The judge may have been sympathetic after several self-confessed gambling addicts took the stand to plead for mercy in the case of Donna Duffer, the controller of the Palm Beach County Convention & Visitors Bureau, whose own gambling passion ended up in her writing 220 forged checks totaling $1.6 million. But that didn't stop the judge from sentencing Duffer to 10 years in prison.And right the judge was to do so.
The excuses for criminal behavior continue to multiply and, as tragic and heartrending as some cases can be, both the cause of justice and the protection of the innocent requires that the penalties attached to our laws be properly enacted.
Here is a quick video clip about the sentencing.
