Observers who closely followed the Manning trial perceived a sentence between 20 and 25 years as something of an unofficial barometer.
Family members of victims expressed outrage at the perceived leniency of the sentence, which was reduced to 19 years after time served and other technicalities.
In addition to the perceived inadequacy of the sentence is an abiding anxiety about the way it will be carried out.
The perceived leniency in her sentence provoked an uproar in Hong Kong for alleged preferential treatment.
Congress is inclined to regard efforts in this vein as encroaching on the legislature's perceived authority over criminal sentencing.
A district court in Bhopal convicted seven former Union Carbide executives of causing death by negligence and sentenced them to two years in jail.The ministerial group was convened in response to popular anger at the perceived leniency of the sentences.
However, a full investigation, a trial perceived as fair and sentences based on evidence would have sent a message that Afghans agreed that a lynch mob was unacceptable; that the police and courts could deliver justice; and that victims, even female victims, had rights.
"In some cases, mandatory minimum and recidivist enhancement statutes have resulted in unduly harsh sentences and perceived or actual disparities that do not reflect our Principles of Federal Prosecution.
"In some cases, mandatory minimum and recidivist enhancement statutes have resulted in unduly harsh sentences and perceived or actual disparities that do not reflect our Principles of Federal prosecution.
In some widely publicized cases, the perceived enemies were being sentenced to death on trumped up charges — among them Witold Pilecki, the organizer of the Auschwitz resistance, and numerous leaders of Armia Krajowa and the Council of National Unity.
I fear that such a sentence would be perceived as a political manoeuvre threatening the most basic human rights.
