(Ed. Note: This is the third of a four-part series chronicling former Olympic sprinter and the now imprisoned Marion Jones, her involvement with steroids, and why the book was thrown at this mother of small children. Come back to Set-Magazine.com next week for the final chapter of this saga)

It was because of Jones' twofold perjury that ruling U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas considered meting out separate sentences: six months for lying to investigators about her steroid usage, plus an additional three months for perjuring herself regarding the check-fraud scheme. Though the Sentencing Guidelines recommended a range from 0-6 months, and/or probation or home confinement, Karas asked for arguments from the attorneys in order to exact more prison time. Yet pleas for leniency in sentencing came from both the defense as well as the prosecution. Per "White Collar Crime Prof Blog,"

(http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/whitecollarcrime_blog/2008/01/marion-jones-se.html)

"While in other white collar crime cases prosecutors have taken a more aggressive stance on sentencing, here they urged the court to stay within the Guidelines and gave the impression that a sentence with no incarceration would be acceptable."

The White Collar Crime site further discusses the inequities of sentencing: "One result of this new…sentencing discretion is that there will be greater disparity, and the "luck of the draw" regarding which judge a defendant draws takes on added importance. The luck of this judicial draw will see Jones beginning a six-month prison term in March, and she will have to serve virtually the entire term because there is no good-time credit for a sentence of less than a year."

So it comes down to the "luck of the judicial draw"? And Jones ended up with a zealot who wanted to use her as an example? Presenting Kenneth M. Karas, a 44-year-old white male, appointed by George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in June 2004. Not only is he judge and jury on Jones, he's the go-to judge on the Tim Montgomery & Co. check-fraud trials, handing out sentences as if they were mints in a bowl stationed at the exit of an Italian restaurant.

Given that Karas has just started forging the path of his own illustrious career as a federal judge, the question arises: Is he perhaps as anxious to make a name for himself as, oh, say, Marion Jones?

Yet the name on most people's lips last January 11 was "Jones," as Marion begged him to be "as merciful as a human being can be" during her sentencing hearing. She explained that she was breastfeeding her seven-month-old infant, as well as mothering a 4-year-old. Yet the judge held fast. Stating, "This was a worldwide lie," Karas imposed the six-month prison term plus 800 hours of community service. Even though in-home detention was fine for her agent Charles Wells in his role in the check-kiting scheme, such courtesy would not be extended to this particular criminal.

Far more criminal is forcing Jones to abandon her infant at the most important time of the child's development. As heart-wrenching as it must be for a mother to miss her baby's first words, first steps, first birthday, as well as every new gesture, look, sound, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has extensively studied the bond between the newborn and the mother ("Infant Attachment Theory," http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/Reports/inatrpt.htm). A pre-verbal, dependent child can't possibly understand the concept of the immediate future without mommy, let alone six months. Experts theorize that the effect of such separation can be catastrophic, leading to serious maternal psychopathology.

As for the breastfeeding itself, recommended for the first year, the benefits include improved health and nutrition, the establishment of lifelong immunities while warding off disease and, simply put, good old-fashioned bonding with the first person the child will ever love.

And what of the older boy who does comprehend, who stands at the window waving goodbye to a mother he's not sure he'll ever see again? Spending his fifth birthday party without either biological parent (Montgomery's sentencing is due within the next few months) what effects might this child suffer? Censure from his peers, loneliness, hostility, lovelessness …

Neither of these children deserved such Draconian punishment.