CRIME (Conversation)

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Barbara Peters had been worried about her husband Albert for several months. He was staying later than usual at the office, and was showing less and less interest in his wife. One evening, while Albert was in the shower, Barbara checked his phone and found numerous romantic texts from a woman named Lydia; they were clearly having a relationship. 
Barbara dropped the phone, dashed to the bedroom closet, loaded Albert’s gun, threw open the bathroom door and shot him six times. 
Albert was pronounced dead in hospital. 
Barbara called the police herself, admitted the murder, and made no attempt to plead her innocence.
How did Barbara find out about the affair?
How many times did she shoot Albert?
What would be the appropriate punishment for Barbara?
Should her emotional state and Albert’s infidelity be regarded as mitigating circumstances, and result in a lesser penalty?
Could Barbara have been mentally unstable, and need psychiatric care, rather than prison?
Patrick Mills has been in and out of work for the past two years. He finds it difficult to follow instructions and seems to resent his management wherever he works. 
In debt, and short on his rent, Patrick decided to help some Paris to London. 
Inexperienced and poorly prepared, Patrick was apprehended at the airport even before boarding the plane. 
Local law carries extremely strict penalties for drug trafficking, although the Home Office could request that Patrick serve any prison time in a UK jail.
Should Patrick’s past difficulties be taken into account, or is he just a ‘bad apple’ who should be off the streets?
Should we treat drug traffickers more or less severely than murderers like Barbara?
Where should Patrick serve his sentence?
Is a criminal sick, evil, or just unlucky?
Should ‘Life mean life’ during sentencing? (e.g. should the prisoner ever be eligible for parole?)
Is the purpose of prison to punish, to deter, to rehabilitate, or simply to house those who cannot integrate into society?
Is solitary confinement a violation of the prisoner’s human rights?
Should the family of the victim be consulted about sentencing the accused?