In it, the defense lays out why the defendant should get a light sentence (family, health, all around good guy), while the prosecutors want the maximum sentence (more years in prison).

FORBES: Doug Whitman Gets No Break on Prison Sentence, But Few Do

This is a light sentence given the dollars involved.

FORBES: Lauryn Hill Jail Time---What's A Fair Tax Sentence?

Gravano was given a light jail sentence of five years, put on the federal witness protection programme and given a new life in Arizona.

BBC: FBI and the mafia: A tale of betrayal

Activists see the sentence as too light.

NPR: Egypt's Leader Mulls Army Takeover Of Restive City

Nevertheless, at a time when Main Street employees (and the unemployed) are occupying Wall Street, the sentence seems to be too light.

FORBES: Rajaratnam's Sentence Brings Closure to the Galleon Scandal

One 18-year-old girl, an apprentice pastrycook with no previous convictions, was given an eight-month sentence for attempting to set light to a car.

ECONOMIST: France

The driver, who ran a red light at 58mph, killing Jamie Butcher in Wisbech in 2011, was given a 43-month sentence.

BBC: Steve Green, Tina Butcher, Jamie Butcher, Hollie Butcher