[Peter_Spaeth]

Taking Bill away from all the people who depend on him and whom he has served with
devotion and passion—like the dozens of people in AA he sponsors and the hundreds of people
he has taken at his own expense on religious pilgrimages, the many others to whom he ministers
walking the housing projects of Chicago, and the countless others he has helped through his
generous giving to worthy causes—would have unintended and far-reaching adverse
consequences. The Court could sentence Bill to a long period of probation with stringent
requirements of community service. And the Court could sentence Bill to the additional
condition of home confinement when he is not serving his community. Bill accepted a fine that
is more than double the highest end of the Sentencing Guidelines range—the maximum statutory
fine—and he paid it even before sentencing. (PSR ¶ 111). Bill voluntarily left the industry he
loved, and will never work in it again. He is a disgraced felon who is experiencing pain and
remorse and punishment. The punishment and suffering he has inflicted upon himself, while
surely not as severe as imprisonment, is nevertheless real and substantial. And we hope that with
punishment also goes mercy for a good man who did bad things, knows he did bad things, and
has demonstrated his commitment to making amends.