Quote:Judge James R. Spencer revealed McDonnell's punishment after being found guilty Sept. 4. on 11 of 13 federal charges filed against him. McDonnell was convicted of trading access to the power of the governor's office for more than $165,000 in loans and high-end gifts, and prosecutors wanted him to spend more than 10 years in federal prison.
Quote:"He's been punished enough," Speaker William J. Howell of the Virginia House of Delegates said in court testimony.
So a corrupt motherfucker who took $165,000 so bribers could get preferential treatment gets 2 years in jail and 2 more on probation and the other republicunt bastard thinks "he's been punished enough."
I rather doubt this guy stole $165,000 and he sure as shit wasn't trying to undermine the public trust.
http://articles.dailypress.com/2012-12-2...pton-judge
Quote:HAMPTON — It's been three months since a Hampton judge told Robert Via he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
Via has had plenty of time to think about the judge's decision. But on the day of his sentencing, he says he wasn't prepared. He says his mind raced and raced until it rested on one thought.
"Die in prison — that was the first thing that came to mind with 128 years," he said.
Via, 21, is appealing his case to the Virginia Court of Appeals. His appellate attorney, Charles Haden, says he anticipates filing a petition for appeal in mid-January.
Via, of Poquoson, was found guilty in a September 2010 home invasion on Arlington Terrace Road in Hampton. In March, a jury found Via guilty of conspiracy, armed burglary, robbery, four counts of abduction and firearms charges. The jury recommended that he spend 128 years and a day in prison — the mandatory minimum amount of time they could give him based on the charges he faced.
Apparently, suffering is in the eye of the beholder...especially if one of the criminals be-holding public office.
