09-20-2003, 01:40 AM
We believe that the rule of law is paramount.Should sentencing be left up to juries, then we will end up with different sentences meted out by different panels at different times. Yes, there may be different circumstances, but a man who robs his rich boss is no different from a hoodlum robbing a poor old lady of her purse.If such a codification of punishments is frowned upon, regardless of such measures in other nations around the world, we would at least submit that past jury decisions be taken into account when future juries are deciding punishments. Judicial precedent is a time honored system that serves as the basis for some of the greatest and best systems of justice conceived by mankind and we should embrace them.We realize that the SP is still progressing through its pangs of birth, but we urge the council to realize that starting off with a firm basis is a wiser course than haphazardly moving forward from incident to incident, making it up as we go.Thank you.