Well, not today, not in this courtroom, not on my watch.
I want to explain something about sentencing.
When a judge sentences someone, we aren’t trying to be cruel.
We aren’t trying to destroy lives.
We are trying to do several things at once.
First, we are trying to punish the wrongdoing.
Yes, punishment is part of justice.
Second, we are trying to deter that person from doing it again.
Third, we are trying to send a message to others watching that this behavior won’t be tolerated.
And fourth, and this is important, we are trying to protect the community.
In most cases, I can balance these goals with a sentence that is firm but merciful.
a sentence that punishes but also offers a path to redemption.
But in this case, we have multiple violations on August 15th and August 18th.
We have a complete lack of remorse.
