It just hit me

I'm working on a paper for my Mediation Advocacy class, and I have just now realized what I have gotten myself into. As a part of my paper, I am actually looking at the legal/mediation themes in a play about a woman who meets her daughter's killer. It's a really moving play, and in reading it, I felt almost as much, if not more, compassion for the killer than for any of the other characters.
And then it hit me.
If I go into Criminal Law, and if I work for the Crown, I will be dealing with all the people that love and happiness forgot. The people that will stand accused in court are often products of a life lived without love, patience or compassion. They are often people who were victimized themselves at a young age. I don't believe that this excuses those who victimize others and I still believe that offenders should be appropriately punished. But I have realized that everyone of them is a human being and I can't imagine what it will be like to meet people who've been dealt such an unfair, sad hand in life.
I don't know what to hope for. That I can do the job without my heart breaking? Or that my heart breaks a little every time?