LogFAQs > #939815874

Zeus posted...

I know that you get your idea of justice from Hammurabi and Draco

Nah - if you were going by Draco or Hammurabi, they should just slit the dude's throat and throw his corpse in a ditch somewhere. Unless he's rich, of course, in which case we just get him to pay a fine and then everything's fine.

Or we could go with other traditional tribal laws and custom, and just have someone else murder the guy in retaliation, because vendettas are perfectly acceptable (except in situations where Blood Price and Blood Debt apply).

but 10 years for murder isn't unreasonably short

It honestly is, because of how the legal system works (at least in the US). Unless there's a specific "no chance of parole" clause, a 10-year sentence can result in someone being out in less than a year (parole is generally 1 month served per year sentenced).

But also notice the article doesn't say 10 years. It says between 3-10 years. So unless he gets the max sentence, it could easily be bordering on a slap on the wrist.

But even 10 years is going to seem like too little time when you're dealing with a premeditated murder in cold blood. Moreso when you're dealing with prison systems that focus more on incarceration than reform - there's a very strong perception that the person coming out is just as bad (if not worse) than they were when they went in, meaning maybe they shouldn't come out at all. Especially since, as people will point out, it's not like their victim gets to come back to life in 10 years - they're dead for good. So there's always a perception that "the punishment should fit the crime", even if there's a competing assumption that punishment shouldn't be "cruel or unusual" or "excessive".
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