What is the value of thoughtful legal work when your political or cultural enemies have you in a chokehold?

Dharun Ravi turns down plea deal in Tyler Clementi webcam spy case

That was December.

Friday, March 16, 2012, Ravi is convicted, faces prospect of 10 years in prison or deportation.

Some say his sentence will be light, in any case. We've seen that movie before. Some said that about Rod Blagoevich, disgraced former Illinois governor, who joined another ex-Illinois governor behind bars this week.

"He'll get off light."

But Blago got 14 years, for corruption, more than many murderers and rapists get. (Guidelines here call for 10 years for murder with no prior record. Rape, about the same.)

You have to ask yourself (and I'm no fan of Rod, he should probably be incarcerated just for his bad management practices), but was Blagoevich 40% worse than a murderer?

We have a Republican friend who ran for county office few years back. The Dems got hold of his tax assessments, and boosted him right out of Cook County with a multiple of those around him. Nixon knew something about political enemies. Now, Blago.

If he'd have murdered someone, Blago might have gotten 10 years, on average. But Blago got another 40% tacked on.

Mr. Ravi has political enemies, too, or cultural. And now Mr. Ravi will have two months to think about those enemies, to read countless editorials, blogs, and comments about himself, to sweat it out, and then see the dice rolled on his behalf out of his control. Accepting the plea bargain? That was within his control. Gone now.

Wanting his "day in court" was something akin to doing surgery on himself. Where was his lawyer when he was turning down the plea bargain?

How much is good lawyering worth if you're in the really hot water?

Interesting things to ponder...........