The commission's changes would reduce the average sentence from a little more than 10 years to a little under 9 years.

NPR: Sentencing Panel Changes Crack Recommendation

Of those who were sentenced to immediate jail time, the average sentence length was nearly 17 months, though many have the possibility of parole.

WSJ: A Year After Riots, London on Mend

Elsewhere, writers have described a shrinking of sentence length in the average newspaper since the nineteen-thirties, probably because of radio.

FORBES: OMG the Web is Eating MY BRAIN!!! (Part 1)

Correlation between previous sentence and views of average fan: -1.0.

FORBES: The Baseball Enigma

The report also criticised the "unacceptably long" delays in bringing cases involving child sex offenders to court - on average eight months from allegation to sentence.

BBC: Child sex offending warning signs 'missed'

While the prison sentence (duration) for Ring was not that bad compared to the average federal prison term of 9 years, any prison time, or any conviction for that matter, for Ring sends a terrible message for lobbyists, and also for nearly every business person out there who is looking to entertain clients.

FORBES: A Lobbyist's Appeal For Common Sense - The Case of Kevin Ring