I was involved in "crime fighting" for many years and used to go home and bend my wife's ear about how "the law is a total f*****g ass!!!" thousands of times, having seen either guilty people literally escape punishment, or receive a slight tap on the wrist for their misdemeanours. But I still ultimately had to accept the laws of the land as they stood. It was usually the application of the law which annoyed me intensely.
Also, the offenders always had extensive help at public expense with their rehabilitation whereas victims were more or less ignored. Very easy, therefore, to get all "bitter and twisted" about it all. After all, we're all only human.
I still have extreme difficulty accepting that decisions such as this one are in any way beneficial to society as a whole, it seems to me that although the law has, strictly, been applied, what kind of "justice" do such judgements bring as an example to all of us? It leaves a very poor impression, that's a fact. And, most of all, it leaves a grieving family feeling like they have been punished and the perpetrator rewarded.