Defense lawyers have a difficult job.

In our combative legal system, they are required to make the strongest, best case possible for their clients, even if they are guilty. The confrontation between the prosecution and defense is supposed to produce justice.

For Brandon Thongsavanh, that means two trials for the same murder, two convictions and two 58-year sentences. Thongsavanh killed Morgan McDuffee, stabbed him to death in a street fight.

During his pleading for a reduced sentence, Thongsavanh’s lawyer, David Van Dyke, crassly described McDuffee’s murder as “garden variety” and “plain vanilla.” His point was that the crime lacked other elements, such as rape, premeditation, torture or multiple victims. He made that case poorly.

There’s no such thing as a “garden variety” murder. McDuffee was stabbed multiple times for no good reason; we don’t consider that “plain vanilla.”

The crime was heinous, a young man lost his life just as it was beginning. He lost everything he ever was and everything he was ever going to be.

“Plain vanilla?”

“Garden variety?”

Life means more than that – maybe not to Thongsavanh, but to us.