Do you think courts are too lenient where you live?

No.
As for your referenced case:
“Justice Hulme referred to Da-Pra’s mental illness, for which he is on medication, and also to his chronic cannabis use.”
And:
”At today’s sentencing, Justice Robert Shallcross Hulme said Da-Pra had no prior criminal record and no history of violence.
He said Da-Pra was on a disability pension after a bike accident, and was remorseful and unlikely to reoffend.”
All in all, the sentence seems fine to me.
Of course the familiy thinks the sentence is too “lenient”. They are emotional and do not see this matter objectively. That is why the victims and their families do not get to decide court senteces in a just and fair justice system.

Yes and no.

In my county, they tend to give harsh sentences for drug sales and violence, and virtually no punishment to whit collar criminals (like the county commissioner who had to resign last week for taking bribes from developers – she will be going to jail).

As a rule, blacks and hispanics get serious jail time, and caucasians, particularly for non violent crimes, get light sentences.

No. I live in TX & TX courts/judges always go for over-kill (except if the person in court is wealthy). The wealthier the person is, the more likely that they will just be allowed to walk away from what ever the charge is….. even murder.

No. Do you know how many people we incarcerate in the USA? It’s sick.

No, I think they do a very fair job over here. The decisions of our courts are respected.

So assuming he is in for the entire 15 years which is highly unlikely, rarely does anyone serve a full sentence, when he gets out what should happen? In this case, he not only slit the throat of a kid and tried to kill her mother, he also killed his own father because “had mental health issues and believed a bikie group wanted to kill family members, but that, if he killed his father, he could somehow “save his mother” so what happens if he gets this sort of message again? It’s all well and good to feel sorry for him because he is mentally ill but do you want him living beside you? I admit I don’t know what the answer is but I also have to admit I don’t want to live beside him, meds, cannibis use, mental illness and messages from bikie gangs, all make for a neighbor I don’t want.

Do you want him as your neighbor?

@flutherother – everyday I pick up the paper there is something about the leniency of the courts. I have lived from vic to NT and everywhere in between and it is the same everywhere. I read and hear many more complaints than praise. What part of the country are you in?

@rooeytoo I’m in Scotland. The press here often run with stories of lenient sentencing on a very emotional level without regard for all the facts of the case. I have a lot more confidence in our courts than in the tabloid press.

@flutherother – I thought you meant you were in Australia too! I think the people have a different point of view here, I really don’t know anything about the situation in Scotland.