(Victoria, Australia) From the Herald Sun comes the report of a 37-year-old female physical education teacher, Karen Louise Ellis, convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old boy.
Karen Louise Ellis
Ellis pleaded guilty to six charges of unlawful sex with the student. Interestingly, she was originally sentenced to probation for the crimes, but the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed on the basis that the sentence wasn't harsh enough. Subsequently, the appeals court gave her six months in the slammer. It seems that a disagreement on the sentencing by a court can be the basis for appeal in Australia. I've never heard of the same thing happening in the U.S.
If a sentence is in accordance with the law in the U.S., i.e. not cruel or unusual nor contrary to sentencing guidelines, then I understand there's no basis for appeal with regard to the sentence. In Australia, it seems the adequacy of a sentence is determined by a person outside the confines of the court who can appeal when he feels the sentence was not adequate.
If my understanding is correct, this represents a significant difference between the judicial systems in the U.S. and Australia.
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