Revolving Door

This really seems a step too far.

When you think of the gravity of the case, much too serious for magistrates of course, the pre-sentence reports, the majesty of the Crown Court, the judge's consideration, the solemn pronouncement of sentence, what did he end up with? Four months served, much of it probably on Cat D, and a nasty bit of tagging. It makes a '16 month' sentence look ridiculous, and serves to fuel the public's cynicism about the justice system. The judge wasted his time too, since Devine had more than one either-way offence on his sheet so a humble bench of JPs could have potted him for twelve months, of which he would in theory have been likely to serve half.