Sentence

Former Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold was led out of a courtroom Thursday with his wrists handcuffed behind his back and his head lowered, bound for the county jail after being sentenced for his misconduct in office conviction and behavior a judge condemned as "outrageous. " Outside the county courthouse, a Leopold supporter said the judge should be fired, while a woman whose lawsuit alleges that she was wrongly terminated by the Leopold administration walked from the building exclaiming, "Pop the champagne!"

Only 17 percent of respondents to SUNDIAL agree that the sentence of life without parole for Eric Joseph Tirado, convicted of killing Maryland State Police Cpl. Theodore D. Wolf, is appropriate. The figure represents 141 callers out of 810. The other 669 callers, almost 83 percent, say the sentence is not appropriate."It's Your Call" represents a sampling of opinions from certain segments of the community, but it is not balanced demographically, as would be done in a scientific public opinion poll.

Prosecutors are portraying Gilbert Arenas as a thuggish intimidator who tried to pressure his teammate into a cover-up, as they argue for a three-month jail sentence for the NBA star on a weapons charge. Arenas' lawyer says his client is "a peaceful man" who played a misguided prank and has already been severely punished for bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room. He says the more fitting punishment is probation and community service. Both sides staked out their positions Tuesday in court filings, ahead of Friday's sentencing in D.C. Superior Court.

A 39-year-old Edgemere man who claimed to be a police officer while waving a gun outside a Southeast Baltimore bar last fall pleaded guilty to handgun possession in Baltimore District Court on Tuesday and received a suspended three-year sentence, the city state's attorney's office announced. Arthur Campbell of the 2500 block of N. Snyder Ave. told police that he was trying to break up a fight at the Angle Inn in O'Donnell Heights and showed a membership card for the Police Emerald Society, a fraternal organization for area police officers of Gaelic descent, charging documents show.

A 23-year-old Howard County man who went on a 15-minute armed robbery spree in South Carroll last May will continue to serve the 10-year sentence imposed on him.Circuit Judge Luke K. Burns Jr. last weekdenied a sentence reduction request by Wayne Edward Bell of West Friendship. In January, he was convicted of armed robbery, assault with intent to murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a felony and sentenced to 45 years, with all but 10 years suspended under termsof an agreement reached with the State's Attorney's Office in October.

A former Baltimore police officer received a five-year suspended sentence this week and was ordered to refrain from unsupervised contact with children after pleading guilty in September to second-degree assault. Troy Jaquan Gee Sr., 34, had been charged in Baltimore Circuit Court with child sexual abuse for allegedly fondling a 13-year-old relative in March 2008. The girl reported the incident to police, and Gee was suspended without pay from the Police Department upon his arrest. He has since resigned.

A Crofton teenager was sentenced to 50 years in prison Thursday for raping a 7-year-old girl, in an attack that outraged a suburban Anne Arundel County community. Circuit Judge William C. Mulford II told David B. Raszewski that his actions were "beyond disturbing" and that there was "no appropriate sentence" to rectify the damage to the young girl and her family. "It approaches a level of depravity which shocks this court," Mulford said. "It's horrific." The sentence, life in prison with all but five decades suspended, was above state sentencing guidelines of 15 to 25 years.

From: Roger D. CassellElkridgeOn Jan. 24, 1992, in the Circuit Court for Howard County, the citizens of this state and county were subjected to a farce of the greatest magnitude.Francisco Rodriguez was allowed to plead guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting death of Cpl. Ted Wolf of the Maryland State Police, which took place in March of 1990. Rodriguez was given a life sentence for the crime, subject to the terms of the pleaagreement.Then, to the dismay of all, the judge had the terms ofthe plea agreement sealed.

Before handing a token sentence to Kenneth Lee Peacock last Monday for the shooting death of his wife, Baltimore County Circuit Judge Robert E. Cahill noted a distinction between this case and the ''brutally difficult choices'' he has faced in sentencing drunken drivers whose irresponsibility had killed a relative, friend or bystander.Sara Engram is editorial-page director of The Evening Sun.