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   Word of the Day for Friday March 8, 2002:

   lenity \LEN-uh-tee\, noun:
   The state or quality of being lenient; mildness; gentleness of
   treatment; leniency.

     The  criminal  suspect  is  pressured by remorse or hope of
     lenity or sheer despair to fess up.
     --Richard  A. Posner, "Let Them Talk," [1]The New Republic,
     August 21, 2000

     In this context, severity is justice, lenity injustice.
     --Dr  Anthony  Daniels,  "It's  no way to treat a lunatic,"
     [2]Sunday Telegraph, December 13, 1998

    .  .  .  an  excessive  lenity  toward  criminals,  which
     encourages crime.
     --Richard  A.  Posner,  "The  Moral  Minority," [3]New York
     Times, December 19, 1999

     And what makes robbers bold but too much lenity?
     --William Shakespeare, Henry VI, part III
     _________________________________________________________

   Lenity comes from Latin lenitas, from lenis, "soft, mild."

References

   1. http://www.thenewrepublic.com/
   2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
   3. http://www.nytimes.com/


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