Lawyers and academics condemned the handing down of...

Lawyers and academics condemned the handing down of a 55-year jail sentence to a man convicted of leading a series of gang rapes in Sydney. Legal experts criticised the sentence as being politically motivated and out of proportion to the severity of the crimes committed.
The 20-year-old man, who cannot be named, was described in court as the "ringleader" of the degrading attacks and will spend most of his life behind bars. He will not be eligible for parole until 2040. The man was convicted on August 15 of 21 charges relating to three gang rapes on four women during the lead-up to the Olympic Games in September 2000.
In sentencing the man, who with the other 13 members of the gang is of Muslim Lebanese descent, Judge Michael Finnane, of the New South Wales District Court, said: "The offender was the dominant figure at all times - what this trial showed is that this man is a liar, a bully, a coward, callous and mean."
Muslim leaders were careful not to criticise the sentence.
While conceding that the gang rapes were particularly deplorable, legal experts said the 55-year sentence was significantly more than for most murders. Professor Mark Findlay, of the Department of Criminology at Sydney University, said the sentence appeared to rule out any chance of rehabilitation.
"If there is none of that, we'll be talking about capital punishment as the next answer," he said.
Talk back radio stations were inundated with callers wanting to comment on the 55-year sentence.
Some called for a return of the death penalty for rapists and murderers while others wondered about the possibility of rehabilitation inside prison for the rapists.