news-record.com

Federal Judge James Dever used strong language when he sentenced Michael Decker to four years in prison for taking bribes from Jim Black.

The two engaged in an "epic betrayal," harming the citizens of North Carolina and tarnishing the General Assembly, Dever wrote in April 2007.

He was right then -- and wrong last week when he cut a year off Decker's sentence.

Dever cited Decker's cooperation with federal prosecutors who needed his help in winning their case against Black. But Dever already gave Decker a break in recognition of his assistance when he limited the original sentence to only four years instead of five years called for under the "advisory guideline range," he wrote at the time.

The judge cut a year off the front of Decker's prison time, and now he's cutting a year off the end.

The leniency softens the stern statements Dever made in 2007 about the gravity of the crime. Decker, who once represented portions of Guilford County, was a veteran Republican legislator whose re-election in 2002 helped his party gain a 61-59 majority in the state House of Representatives. In the weeks following that election, however, Decker reached a deal with Black, the Democratic speaker of the House. In exchange for $50,000 and other favors, Decker would switch his party affiliation and support Black's re-election as speaker. Decker's move cost his party control of the House and helped Black stay in power.

Dever saw the arrangement as a corrupt bargain fueled by Decker's "feverish greed for money" and Black's "feverish lust to retain power."

With Decker's cooperation, federal prosecutors won a conviction against Black and a five-year prison sentence. Without it, Black might still be speaker, Dever noted in 2007. Black's supporters stood by him for a long time, and some are campaigning now for his early release. Their bid should be rejected, but this break for Decker gives the uneasy feeling that the indignation is wearing off. Maybe Dever should have referred to his earlier order for a reminder of why Decker didn't deserve another break.