OKAY, I FOUND OUT SOME IMPORTANT STUFF. going off a few sources, the attack on Alby took place in 1989, and the trial in 1993. As I initially mentioned, the assault would probably be classified as assault to the danger of life (the permanent impact, i.e. face disfigurement, is a lesser offence and more often than not the prosecution will choose one as the main). We saw that Ruben's trial was a jury trial, which clearly indicates both that it was a grievous offence and that the sentence will be severe, at least 5 years. 5 years TO LIFE, so even if Ruben got, let's say, 10-ish years (which would allow him to have a few years to 'get the girl, the car, and the house'), that's a pretty light sentence. What mitigating factors could come into play here, especially considering that Niall's confession was out the window (considering how emotional and unsure he was, it's possible that the jury was instructed to dismiss it completely)? Well, we can be sure there was no talk about Ruben's past sexual assaults done to him. And who else could testify on his behalf, Maura, Lori? Well, maybe Lori, since she was a social worker, and I imagine Ruben's defense would like someone like that on their team. That is, if his public defender was any good (questionable). So we have possible mitigating factors of single mother, age, class differences, the aspect of Alby waiting for so long to press charges (you can always question the victim's intentions; if he truly hadn't been an instigator of the assault, then why would he wait? and unfortunately even now the argument "he was fucking scared and processing" doesn't really work in court, just look up any rape case), and possibly the main two, i.e.
1) he was trying to protect Niall (something I can see the defender making a story of - Niall was afraid of the consequences, or even Alby himself, so he was 'confused' during his testimony);
2) look all, Ruben is so much better now! he works with kids, it would be a shame to destroy his life now (all in all, seems to work quite well in real cases of attractive white men, sooo)
Important caveat: in the year 1993, a new legal act came into force in Scotland. Long-term offenders would become eligible for parole after serving half their sentence, and were required to be released on licence once they had served two-thirds of their term. Under this act, our boy Ruben could have been sentenced to twenty, twenty-four years and get paroled after ten to twelve. i'm affected by Ruben's worms and Niall's love for him, but that's kind of insane.
NOW, let's move on to Benji. Let's gather the known facts. He is a repeat offender. He attacked his wife's lover (doesn't matter what actually happened between Benji and Mona, the only important thing is how a solicitor can spin the story). Speaking of the solicitor, he can't afford anyone top shelf. So we have a crime of passion (mitigating factor), danger to life (aggravating factor), and a repeated violent offence (major aggravating factor). If we were to be very lenient in our opinions, we could assume that Ruben wouldn't be a danger to the general public (because, again, crime of passion). Then the judge would have the option to issue a standard long-term sentence, not a life sentence. That's one scenario in which Ruben has no chance to get out as soon as he did. The second option would be a plea bargain. If the charge was reduced to assault to severe injury (in my opinion, doubtful but still in the realm of possibility, especially considering the lack of premeditation), and if the plea was entered immediately, it all would play in Ruben's favour. If he had pleaded guilty immediately (which makes sense), his sentence could have been reduced by 1/3. If the case is before the High Court, the initial sentence would be, based on my research, 6 to 9 years. Let's say everybody loves Ruben; he gets 6 years, which is then reduced by 1/3, and we are left with 4 years total. Damn, even the maximum sentence reduced to 6 still somehow works with the timeline.
So, CONCLUSION - based on my two hours of research, it is entirely possible, if questionable, to work in such a short sentence even with such a serious offence(s). The assault on Alby was less likely to be considered a crime of passion, Ruben did not plead guilty, ergo it makes sense why the sentence would be longer for that crime. Scottish law is, apparently (after the Act of 1993, which was a landmark legislation according to my beautiful wife, Wikipedia), focused on 'systematic prisoner management' with a lot of regulations concerning structured parole and such. I won't be insane and assume that Richard took that into account while setting the action in this year specifically, but then againā¦ not impossible. Actually possible if you ask me at like 2 AM when I'm delusional and at my weakest. okay, thank you to those two people who lasted till the end
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