the.com/leniency
Justice deciding it's had enough and would rather go home early.
means The merciful choice to punish less harshly than the rules technically allow.
from From Latin lenis, soft or smooth, the same gentleness that soothes a wound or eases a sentence.
Courtroom currencyPlea deals trade guilt for lighter punishment.
OppositeSeverity, leniency's stern, joyless sibling.
First offendersOften earn it; repeat offenders rarely do.