Rihanna's Ex-Boyfriend Chris Brown Sentenced

Pop star Chris Brown has been sentenced for the beating of his ex-girlfriend, Rihanna. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg ordered Chris Brown to five years' probation and six months' community labor and commanded him to stay away from pop singer Rihanna for five years.

Under the terms of the sentence, Chris Brown has to stay one hundred yards away from Rihanna, unless the two are at the same music industry event. Additionally, Judge Schnegg wanted Brown to serve community labor, instead of community service. The implications of labor, as opposed to service, are duties which are physically demanding. Community service would be more along the lines of mentoring youth or educating others not to commit such crimes.

Rihanna, and her attorney, feel that the sentence handed to Chris Brown is rather stringent. They would have been satisfied with a ruling which would have kept Brown from harassing Rihanna and staying away from her.

Chris Brown's actions against Rihanna included: hitting, choking, and biting. Additionally, he tried to push her out of a car he was driving. Given the nature of these acts, does the punishment fit the crime? Is the sentencing too lenient, or too stringent?

Rihanna and her attorney may feel that the probation and community labor sentences are too harsh, but others will opine that it is not harsh enough. One of the facts associated with this particular case is that this was not the first incident of abuse on Chris Brown's behalf towards Rihanna. He had previously shoved her against a wall, after she slapped him across the face.

If this was a first offense, the punishment would seem a tad severe, as Rihanna and her legal counsel seem to believe. Given the fact there was a trend towards violence and abuse and this wasn't a first offense, Chris Brown's sentence is just about right. The community labor will work out to be roughly over 1400 hours. That works out to thirty-five forty-hour weeks and constitutes a lot of time for hard labor. Brown hit, choked, and bit Rihanna in the most violent outburst back in February.

When he shoved her against a wall, Brown had been slapped in the face first. Now, this doesn't excuse his act by any stretch of imagination. Violence against women is always wrong (violence, regardless of the victim and unless in self-defense, is always wrong). It does, however, show that Rihanna slapped him. The slapping on her behalf does not justify Brown's action, but it does show that she was in the wrong for that situation, too.

All things considered, Chris Brown was violent against Rihanna. That much is absolutely clear cut. With regard to the sentence, it is not too harsh, as the defendant and her counsel may believe. But it isn't too lenient, either. Brown needs to stay away from Rihanna and the community labor will give him plenty of time to dwell on his unfortunate actions.