I know Motley that we disagree on matters of criminal justice.  Note that I do not consider a plea bargain to be a conviction.  Only a jury of peers exposed to all the evidence and tutored in appropriate application of the statutes relative to level of crime can realistically convict.  Guilty from a plea bargain is obtained by holding the figurative gun to the "perps" head.

Now, I suspect that you do not know Ratliff and I further suspect that you do not have the evidential material before you.  Nevertheless, in the end you proclaim that a life sentence for him works for you.

Absent direct examination of the evidence yourself or by an impartial jury, your conclusion comes entirely from the perception that the ADA involved is a good and honorable man or woman who has the wisdom to pass judgment on fellow citizens.  Yet our entire judicial process as originally and wisely formulated took account of human vagaries of decision and demanded that a jury of multiple people determine guilt.