There is nothing new in any of this, nor in my respectful opinion, will there ever be.
'Make the punishment fit the crime' is wonderful in concept but will always be nigh-on impossible to apply consistently in practice. I spent my working days as a lawyer dealing with criminals, ranging from 'top end' down to the most minor parking offence. But there are always comparisons which are difficult to come to terms with. The shoplifter who constantly steals to feed his or her drug habit who is fined £75 and the driver who is fined £500 for doing 85 on an almost empty motorway.... The drunken oaf who causes hundreds of pounds worth of damage to parked cars by ripping off their door mirrors who gets a conditional discharge because it's 'out of character' or 'it was a one-off' or 'he's good to his Mum' and the impoverished single parent who is fined £250 for not having a TV licence. One size has never (ever) fitted all...
