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Well of course it doesn't happen all the time. It's very, very rare! But I don't think the guy is some sort of monster. As you point out, even he himself was terribly embarrassed by his actions after the fact.
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Oh I don't think he's some sort of monster either, moron maybe, but not a monster. In fact, I would imagine that a majority of human beings who do something that heinous (especially if its caught on camera for the world to see) most likely feel some level of regret afterwards.
But I don't think that has anything to do with the NFL handing out the appropriate punishment. His punishment should fit the severity of his actions. There are people incarcerated every day who are not "monsters", yet the law dictates that we remove them from society based on their actions - not on the strength of their character, not on their level of regret, and not on the level of stress they were under while commiting their crime.
I think when you take the field as a football player, violent as that sport is, its up to you to be responsible enough not to stomp on someone's bare head while they are lying helpless on the ground. I know it was in the "heat of battles" and all those other cliches, but if that's a situation a professional athlete can not handle without trying to potentionally maim or kill someone, then I seriously question whether that person should be allowed back on the field at all.
If he'd only stepped on him once, there could've been some doubt about his intentions, or whether or not he realized Gurode didn't have his helmet on. If that were the case, I think I'd be more inclined to agree with your "old school" approach to this.