avona@jps.net wrote:
And it seems a little extreme that he kills one guard and for that he's
sent to >Cygnus Alpha with a limiter implant.
A life sentence for theft is a little heavy too but the Federation aren't exactly strong on prisoner rights from what we see of their justice system.
In California you could get a life sentence for theft if it's the third time you are caught and the dollar value is high enough. Vila was in and out of the system several times before he was made a lifer, or so I interpreted his comments on his past. The really interesting thing, as someone brought up on list before, is Nova-- he's a pretty fresh-faced kid to be getting life himself.
It might well be that as with transportation (from the UK) there was an element of sending all the more disruptive people to the colonies - they are more likely to be useful there (I read a science fiction short story along these lines a long time ago)
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