Just caught the 16 month prison sentence dished out to Lord Watson for fire-raising.
No point in recounting the event, however given what the action has done to this individual's life and career, his age and the potential effect on his family, I find it a bit difficult to reconcile this sentence with the effect of the action. Much has been made of the potential result of his obvious stupidity, but the act took place in a busy hotel, and under the watchful eye of CCTV.
I'm not pleading for leniency, but I can't reconcile this particular sentence with the action, in light of the various TV police documentaries that conclude with a summary of the sentence handed out to the various neds that steal and trash cars, assault and stab others, burgle and destry homes by the hundred, and seem to get away with community service, suspended sentences, or a few months for putting others in hospital.
I really don't know, or care, who Watson is, but I do feel some distaste at the thought that the sentence was based on 'setting an example to others'.
If that's the principle, then I want to see more burglars and career criminals 'setting an example'.