The criminal justice system is supposed to be there on behalf of the people, is it not? Hence I fail to see why there would be a difference between the two (general public and judiciary), that would be a fundamental conflict of interest in exactly what the law is trying to do.
I do see how my posts may have been interpreted in that way. Let me summarise them for you, in an attempt to get you to understand.
My post(1) - The reason behind it (the sentences) is supposed to be deterrance, but in actual fact it's revenge. This revenge is handed down by the members of this "judiciary", on behalf of the opinion of the people.
My post(2) - The reason behind it (the sentences) is supposed to be deterrance, but in actual fact it's revenge. This revenge is handed down by the members of this "judiciary", on behalf of the opinion of the people.
The main idea being that I tend to believe that the law, judges and juries are all influenced by the feelings of the general public. That's not to say that I think a judge goes and looks at what the public thinks before sentencing, that's absurd. What I do think is that the pseudo-liberal society that we live in dictates that the death penalty is wrong, yet it also dictates that these people need to be punished for their actions. Judges are no different, thus I believe they also suscribe to that general point of view. I too (despite what I said), think that if someone murdered a family member of friend of mine, that I'd want revenge. I'd like to think that would be a reason for the sentencing of the criminal.
Matt - I wasn't aware that so many people didn't like law students, but if it is the case perhaps it's your egotisitcal attitude that gets law students in to that position.