One thing the criminal justice system is NOT is just. A father shoplifting from a grocery store to feed his starving family should NOT be treated worse than a Madoff who ripped off millions, if not billions, of people's hard earned money. Yet Madoff gets a country-club prison while the dad gets hard time. Putting someone away for 10 years for possession of marijuana while a DUI who runs over a kid gets a suspended sentence isn't justice, either.

To my mind, justice means making the criminal repay the victim, where possible. This doesn't necessarily mean going to prison. It also doesn't mean letting those who can afford it get away with crime. And sometimes it means killing the criminal to protect society.