Criminals Let Off Easy?

I think that criminals need to face the proper punishment for their crimes and their actions. Whether it was a minor offense or something as major as killing someone, I think if people break the rules, they should face the consequences.

I recently had a little run in with the law myself. I will admit to speeding a little too much, and then I had another violation added on top of that! I was driving after 10 p.m. without my big kid license even though my mother and myself made it very clear that I was over the age of 16. Oh well, that's a whole other story. I paid a little on the south side $300 for both tickets. A month later while listening to the radio, the newsman talked about an ex-rapist who was caught violating parole and was only fined around $150! I think that that is just a little bit ridiculous. I'm sure that he served time for his crime, but he is much more of a threat to society than a teenager trying to get home before curfew. It doesn't seem right that I'm the one who had to pay more of my hard earned money for a much less harmful crime.

As another example, on the Oprah Show recently, there was a teenage boy who had been sexually abused by a family friend for more than three years. He never told anyone about it, and one day he finally snapped and stabbed the man over 55 times. All the boy received was five years of probation. I understand all the trauma that the boy must have went through, but killing someone isn't the only way out of a sticky situation. Especially stabbing someone 55 times. I think that's being a little overly aggressive and totally uneccessary. I think that people that murder other people need to pay for what they have done, which is taking someone's family member or friend away from them. Committing murder should never be a persons way out. The boy could have told his family and they could have went to the police and had him arrested. Killing is the easy way out, but in real life it makes the situation more complicated for the victim. I know an eye for an eye isn't the right thing to do either, but killing someone deserves a harsh punishment in my eyes.