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I really hope the people defending this sentence realize that the average time served in the US for murder is around 4 years, and I hope that they then strenuously believe this is far too short. I've been "emotionally tortured" as much as these folks were (especially given that they had the full support of lawyer's law firm and hired forensics specialists from just about the very start, it appears) and I'd much rather be emotionally tortured than dead.

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4 years really? For murder? I would assume life in prison for murder.

You don't mean manslaughter do you?

The first page of Google results will suggest that for second degree murder, depending on the state, sentences bounce around between 10-20 years. Obviously, if you deliberately plan and execute the killing of your neighbor as an adult, you are probably never leaving prison; first degree sentences are extremely long, averaging more than twice the sentence handed down in this case.

The time served might be much less then the sentence.

I'd much rather be emotionally tortured than dead

I guess you're in the minority? I'm right there with you though.

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