The attorney and legal commentator John Furlong believes the case is unprecedented. “I have practised criminal law for nearly 45 years, and I have never seen an outcome or circumstance quite like Amy Locane’s,” he says. “When I was a young lawyer, we punished the guilty. We did not torture them. Times have changed. Amy Locane’s resentencing undermines public confidence in our entire criminal justice system. Lawyers and citizens alike lose confidence in the finality of judgment.” Lawyers such as Furlong fear this case could set a precedent. The justice system is founded on the principle that people sent to jail serve their time and are then rehabilitated and free to rebuild their life. Furlong believes that when a sentence is extended willy-nilly, and after time has been served, the very concept of justice is undermined. “If courts can extend sentences after they have been served, our system will break down.”
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