"Would deterrence justify the maximum sentence? Not hardly."
You can't just hand-wave things like that by saying "Not hardly." The counterexample is very clear when the author mentions China as a place with a smaller prisoner population. Deterrence is very effective in China...
And, just because the religious altar cost $X to physically replace doesn't mean desecration only caused $X of damage. The reduction of the act of desecration of a symbol people care deeply about to just the replacement cost is absurd.
And, just because the religious altar cost $X to physically replace doesn't mean desecration only caused $X of damage. The reduction of the act of desecration of a symbol people care deeply about to just the replacement cost is absurd.