PART of the duty of a court is to pass sentences that act as a deterrent to others. So, can we really expect that other criminals who fancy robbing a shop will look at the suspended sentence handed to Shane Bishop and immediately abandon their plans in fear of the wrath of the judiciary?
Bishop pushed a heavily pregnant woman during his robbery and through fortune alone she did not fall and put her baby at risk. Surely Bishop should have received some loss of liberty.
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