COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Why would a man who punched and knocked out a dog's tooth have to spend more time in jail than a man whose punch was responsible for another person's death?
In two separate court rooms Monday, two men were sentenced.
Brent Goode punched a man in the head outside a Columbus bar. The man fell down and died and Goode will have to spend another 31 days in jail after spending 29 days already -- for a total of 60 days behind bars.
In another courtroom, in Delaware County, Jeffrey Metz was sentenced for punching a deputy's K-9 dog.
The dog lost a tooth and Metz was sentenced to 180 days in jail -- three times the amount of Goode's sentence.
Is a dog's tooth worth more than a man's life?
"One of the things that we have to concede is that we sometimes have schizophrenia in our sentencing policies," said Dan Kobil, a Capital University law professor.
Kobil said a lot more goes into sentencing than just the crime, including intent and criminal record. Plus, the quality of the defendant's attorney is also a factor.
"It's not surprising that the dumbest criminals in the chain are going to have the poorest outcomes," Kobil said.
Something else to keep in mind: What was the situation?
Was the outcome of the crime not what the guilty person intended and could it happen to a normal person in a normal situation?
"If you have somebody who has just reacted in a jostling situation at a bar, thrown a punch and then been horrified by the outcome, that's certainly far less culpable than someone in a calculated way tries to injure another person, or a dog," Kobil said.
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