Should Snape Be Punished?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 170657

Mike wrote:
<snip>
> 
> The question is, with what we know right now of Snape and his 
> misdeeds, should he spend time in Azkaban? Get a community service 
> sentence? Or should he walk free?
> 
> < Dumbledore in HBP p. 549, US>
> 
> "Professor Snape mad a terrible mistake. He was still in Lord 
> Voldemort's employ on the night he heard the first half of Professor 
> Trelawney's prophesy"
> 
> Mike:
> After VW I the MoM rounded up all suspected DEs they could catch and 
> punished them. True, many got off by pleading the Imperious, but 
> Snape didn't deny his involvement. On the other hand, as Pippin 
> pointed out, Snape must have convinced Crouch Sr. to clear him and 
> Crouch doesn't appear to be an easy man to win over. Yet, we must 
> keep in mind that Crouch said "cleared by this council" followed 
> immediately by "vouched for by Albus Dumbledore". So, would he have 
> been cleared on the evidence (of his switching sides, I suppose) had 
> he not also had Dumbledore vouch for him? And what about now, when
it appears that Snape killed the guy who vouched for him? <snip>


Carol responds:
Once you're cleared of all charges, you can't be tried again for the
same crime (double jeopardy), even in the WW (I hope!). Anything that
Snape did as a DE in VW1 is water under the bridge and can't be held
against him. That includes revealing the Prophecy to Voldemort. 

Nor did he do anything as a DE other than spy as a double or triple
agent until he killed Albus Dumbledore. That murder or coup de grace
or whatever it was is, IMO, all that he'll be tried for. (If he gets a
fair trial, which is asking a great deal, he'll be cleared of trying
to help Draco get DEs into the tower. He may even be able to prove
that he didn't plan or intend to kill Dumbledore. I think that if the
WW has degrees of murder rather than one-sentence-fits-all (life in
Azkaban), and if they hear his whole story, and, especially, if he
does something heroic to save Harry and demonstrate his true loyalty
without question, maybe he'll get a short sentence in Azkaban followed
by community service.

Carol, hoping that Harry will speak for Snape as a witness at his
trial and that Snape will forgive him that act of kindness :-)