"Do you make the punishment fit the crime?" Mr. Feeney asked.
"How do we make the punishment so horrible that people don't kill?" he asked.
Members of Congress got going with their obligatory post-mortems: Make the punishment fit the crime, sad but necessary.
The most prominent effect has been in the law courts: limiting the discretion of judges to make the punishment fit the crime, and imposing harsh minimum terms.
Magistrates must distinguish the professional criminal from the easily led and every shade of culpability in between – and make the punishment fit the criminal.
"I think we have to make the punishment so severe that they go with options other than heading to sea," he said.
To the Editor: What is needed to resolve the status of the Florida and Michigan Democratic primaries is to make the punishment fit the crime.
PAUL MONES Portland, Ore., March 18 , 2012To the Editor: Re "Make the Punishment Fit the Cyber-Crime," by Emily Bazelon (Op-Ed, March 20): I disagree with Ms. Bazelon's view that the punishment for Dharun Ravi is too harsh.
"Or do you make the punishment fit the arbitrary wishes of individual judges in individual cases?" Many prosecutors say they agree with the bill's goals.
If you were a highly respected coach and had a bad leg, for example, you could make the punishment a physical exercise that obviously pains you.
