Justice

[Baggers]

As above.... To protect the community has to be the primary goal.  So to this end,  how can this individual ever be trusted to walk free within the community ever again?

Absolutely, Professory.

Even though I work in the mental health field I have long advocated for far heavier penalties for criminal activity. Why? Because longer jail time for offenders means the community is protected for longer. And having worked for decades in mental health I am well aware of its success rate on working with offenders, or the lack thereof. Don't get me started on the effectiveness of anger management courses etc (which I've run!!!!). Anger is a far greater issue than any 6 week course can alter significantly, or... enough to prevent another crime. Show me any angry man and I'll show you a trail of destruction behind him... physical, psychological or both.

Although mental health issues may explain why it happened it does not, nor should it ever, cause a more sympathetic sentence. Sympathy, first and foremost, is for the victim(s)... their voice(s) are not being heard loud enough in today's legal system (charade).

Once your actions have led to the death or traumatic harm (rape, psychological abuse etc) of another human being or a number of human beings, I do not care how compelling the mitigation is... the community has a right to feel protected from that individual for a very long time, much longer than so many sentences are today.

I find myself completely intolerant of a legal system that 'negotiates' justice, does 'deals' around criminal punishment.