In response to corinthians:It does seem strange that he got off completely. Not even community service? That doesn't seem right.

In response to Cass:So what? Your answer is ruin one more?!?! No one forced the drugs down these people's throats. There is a little thing called freewill, you know.

I agree. There are many circumstances that may affect the sentence a criminal should receive and it seems unjust that judges cannot take these into account. There does need to be some review where this happens however, mainly in order to prevent prejudice and bias from one judge having the potential to come into play.

I AGREE. After all, the judges have the experience and they have also the faculty to know each case individually and decide if a punishment even for a same crime, can be also dealt with a lesser punishment depending on the circumstances.

What if someone was subjected to a situation that involved "black magic" and torture, and the same individuals that created the torture were to decide the punishment.... like putting someone into the middle of a game, not explaining the rules of the game, and then punishing a person for breaking rules that aren't available.... would you still believe that same judge should be allowed to make any kind of judgement on the situation? Seems like allowing "judges" this type of power is a situation of power abuse. The rules of the game have to be established before any type of judgement can be considered. No one can be accountable for rules that aren't there.