The number of years in prison is often based not just on the seriousness of the crime, but also on society's desire to prevent it from happening. A 17 year old boy who has sex with a 16 year old girl, consentually, is a criminal, simply because society has said so. Has he committed such a horrible crime that he should spend the next 15 years in jail? Maybe, maybe not, but if he know that his 30 seconds of fun would land him 15 year of misery, he may well say to himself that it's better to wait until is girlfriend is 17. The 15 years punishment is a deterant to crime.
I know my spelling stinks, and I'm sorry, but I'm barely awake, and severly dyslexic. |
