Laws Must Be Enforced Impartially, Consistently Anti-Leniency Criminal Laws Remind Offenders That Lawbreaking Carries Serious Consequences.

As Shakespeare reminded us a long time ago, mercy blesses the giver as well as the receiver. A winner all the way around.

So when Christina Finney’s parents asked leniency for the teenage motorist who had killed their daughter, First District Judge John Luster was moved.

Luster could have put Danielle Muncey, 16, in jail for up to six months after she pleaded guilty to inattentive driving. She ran a stop sign on June 1 and struck the truck that Christina Finney, her schoolmate at Post Falls High School, was driving.

But Christina herself, it turns out, had once written a touching note about compassion and forgiveness. Inspired by it, her parents implored Luster not to incarcerate Danielle.

Like Portia in “The Merchant of Venice,” Luster invoked the quality of mercy. He ordered a fine, probation, revocation of Danielle’s driver’s license and 100 hours of community service - but not a day behind bars.

Portia, if you remember your Shakespeare, was not really a judge, merely an imposter, and her intent was to protect her beloved from having to yield a pound of flesh.

Luster is a real-life judge, and his job is to administer the laws of Idaho fairly, impartially and consistently.

It is beyond argument that Danielle Muncey, like countless negligent drivers before her, is devastated by this tragedy. She has suffered and probably will suffer the rest of her life.

It also is beyond argument that Beverly and Peter Finney are sincere parents who know that adding to Danielle’s burdens won’t ease their grief.

Yet, laws that govern criminal behavior exist to protect all society, not just the individuals directly involved and their families.

Criminal laws serve not merely to punish wrongdoers but also to remind would-be offenders that lawbreaking - even when it’s a result of negligence rather than design - carries serious consequences. Consequences beyond the normal feelings of regret that would afflict any driver in Danielle Muncey’s circumstances.

If we really want justice to be blind, dispassionate and impartial, then it must be the nature of the criminal act - not the character of the victim nor even the compassion of the victim’s family - that determines the appropriate punishment, no matter how much our souls long to dispense mercy instead of justice.

, DataTimes MEMO: For opposing view, see headline “Laws must leave room for forgiveness, mercy”

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