The answer is simple. If you do something bad, you are to take the consequence. In this instance, ban time. Some naughty things can get you banned for 1 hour, some others can get you for 100 days or even 10 years. Whether you have change or not is irrelevant. The damage has been done and is irreversible.
Say that you were scamming someone for the fifth times (they do not ban you for ridiculous amount of time if it’s your first or even second time being caught). Yes, you do deserve significantly longer ban time because: (i) you are not worthy to be part of PW community, (ii) you show no indication of changing.
Say that you were hacking into the game system. You know well what you are doing is not only against the TOS, but also illegal and is punishable by law should the developer care enough to pursue the matter. In this instance, you should be glad that they only ban you for 10 years and not try to press charges.
At the end of the day, who you are now does not excuse the fact of what you did a couple days, weeks, or even years ago. You will still have to pay for the consequence. Just as a saying goes, “can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.”