+1 to Squawk.
kitchen Bench, you have no idea of the intimate details of the case, nor do you have any idea of the consequences of a conviction.
It's uninformed attitudes like yours and the tabloid press that feeds you these ideas that does so much damage to society.
Principle #1 - Equal sentences do not produce equal justice. That is why mandatory sentencing is such a disaster.
Principle #2 - In the digital age with a binary decision making system, there is no room for "Yes, but" - extenuating circumstances don't fit the decision making systems these days. Once you are labelled a sex offender for example , there is no difference to the system whether you are a violent rapist or someone caught having a pee behind a tree.
Judges hate people with rigid attitudes suchas yours and the press who feed you. What now happens in some cases is that the judge and jury and even the prosecution have to tie themselves in knots to try and deliver a just outcome despite a rigid and uncompromising inflexible system. That often means that people are NOT convicted of what they should be but instead get a lesser charge that produces a more just result.
If a policeman has ever "dropped' a few KMH from your speeding ticket for you being cooperative, you have just experienced the above.