Much of the novel is summary as opposed to real action, but it's a testament to Sneed's gifts that it rarely feels stagnant; on the contrary, her sentences are strangely hypnotic, casting a spell that makes it hard to put the book down.
On the contrary, by sentencing felons to life without parole rather than the death penalty, we respect the capacity of human beings to change.
Further investigations found that 要不是 yàobúshì 'if it were not' can serve as a counterfactual conjunction in Chinese, initiating semantic-based representations of contrary-to-fact sentences (Hsu 2014).
Whether it is Officer Jimmy McNulty using all his cards to pursue a high-profile case despite resistance from his own department, or gang member D'Angelo Barksdale accepting a 20-year prison sentence contrary to his strong desire to turn in his uncle Avon and walk, this type of conflict is pervasive in all aspects of the show.
The Privy Council also found that the institution of an appointed review board to determine the length of sentences was contrary to the doctrine of separation of powers fundamental to the Westminster system of government.
"Dramatically changing the sentencing laws — by permitting early parole for some offenders, contrary to the detailed sentencing scheme currently in effect — is not reasonably germane to changing the treatment of juvenile and youthful offenders in the criminal justice system," he wrote.
The final question is whether the California Court of Appeal's decision affirming Andrade's sentence is "contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of," this clearly established gross disproportionality principle.
For the reasons stated above, it follows a fortiori that the adjudication of the Supreme Court of Virginia affirming petitioner's conviction and sentence was neither "contrary to," nor did it involve an "unreasonable application of," any of our decisions.
He is also considered harsh in handing out sentences, and -- contrary to the criticism from the prosecutors in the Bryant case -- is generally considered more likely to be biased in favor of the prosecution than the defense, according to the Colorado Commission on Judicial Performance's report on the judge for 2004.
But contrary to the Core Thesis, these sentences are not apriori truths knowable independently of any empirical evidence.
