Armin Meiwes, the weird German guy who shared a meal of pan-fried penis with its donor and then with the consent of the latter butchered and ate him, has been sentenced to life in prison. The government originally conceded that he didn't murder anyone and sent him to prison for 8 years. On appeal, the judge, disgusted by the case, decided the sentence was too lenient and has now found Meiwes guilty of murder, even though the maximum sentence for "killing on demand" is five years.

It would be hard to argue that Meiwes is a fine man to have as a neighbor and isn't a generally creepy freak all around, but certainly based on his statements and background -- he never hurt anyone before, and he never would have without consent -- he is not a threat to society. Considering we're talking about Europe, if he had simply shot a man on the street in cold blood he'd still probably only get around 20 years in prison. Something about cutting someone up and eating him makes Meiwes more offensive to the German state than a real murderer. Meiwes will go to prison for the rest of his life because he made the judge go "ewwwwwwwwwww." How's that for rule of law? Law is and always has been a completely arbitrary farce molded by the whims and tastes of the powerful.

I say free the weirdo -- he committed no crime. And then force the judge to watch something offensive to his religion as "sensitivity training."