One would argue that they understand it well, and default to calculating the consecutive maximum penalty or concurrent minimum allowable by law to suit the sensationalism they constantly add to every headline and article to sell because when the news is run like a business, you will get the news that sells the most, and never hear about the important things that don't attract consumers' attention. Unless it suits the need of the propaganda machine, but that's another discussion altogether.

>Not every killer should go to jail for life, but (let's say) some do; thus, the maximum is life.

Many countries don't have life sentences.

I personally could care less how we sentence these criminals, because I thinking changes in sentencing tend to have little effect anyway.

We should be more concerned about fixing the immigration system so our regulations don't give employers like this the leverage to exploit their employees.

You are comparing independent consultants/contractors to slaves, seriously?

I see it as voluntary servitude in the hopes of making a lot of money. AFAIK nothing stops the employee from simply walking away (i.e. going back to his home-country).

Mislabeling the current situation as "slavery" or "indentured servitude" won't help your cause. You can say these regulations create the incentives and opportunity to exploit immigrants by effectively making it difficult for them to shop for a better paying job.