My personal belief is that a non violent first offense should NEVER result in jail time.

Yep, Bernie Madoff should have walked, albeit with a felony strike and ruinous restitution.

The alternative is our current gulag.

[EDIT] And the subject of tfa is, apparently, not a first-offender.

American prison sentences tend to be higher than other developed nations, but 10 years is quite a bit just for burglary as he says. Florida is a 'three strikes' state so he must be a repeat offender (as in, in and out of prison).

Completly agree, the american prison system is a sad sad thing.