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Seems like disproportionate punishment for 18 years for constant harassment and first time offence (?). As a taxpayer, it seems economically cheaper to rehabilitate him for the non-violent offences and get him contributing back to the economy rather than spending money incarnating him.

IANAP (I am not a participant) beyond the article. I don't know the full case details to warrant the punishment.

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It was the first time he was convicted of an offense, but there was (a) evidence of prior offenses turned up by the investigation into this one, and (b) every indication that the offender was not only remorseless, but saw his own actions as justified by the persecution he underwent for accosting his neighbor's 4 year old son. There was, in other words, a very credible case to be made that the offender was destined to re-offend.

So basically the American justice system admits that it is incapable of rehabilitation and that its only purpose is punishing and/or isolating offenders from society. Got it.

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