The point of putting people in jail for crimes is to:
1) isolate criminals from society (it is more difficult for them to victimize noncriminals when they are in jail)
2) deter other people from committing crimes
If this guy really has been living an honest life for 13 years then likely the first is no longer a motivation in this case. As to the deterrence aspect, I would guess that this has already been substantially weakened by the delay in punishment. So overall, the case for sending him to jail now seems pretty weak, while the harm is substantial.
Commute his sentence to community service plus parole and move on.
1) isolate criminals from society (it is more difficult for them to victimize noncriminals when they are in jail)
2) deter other people from committing crimes
If this guy really has been living an honest life for 13 years then likely the first is no longer a motivation in this case. As to the deterrence aspect, I would guess that this has already been substantially weakened by the delay in punishment. So overall, the case for sending him to jail now seems pretty weak, while the harm is substantial.
Commute his sentence to community service plus parole and move on.
Comment