I really don't know how to feel about this.

Remember the guy that beat his three-year-old son to death because he thought he might be gay?

He's been sentenced to 30 years.

Fleischer's courtroom was awash in grief Friday as the judge sentenced Paris to 30 years in prison followed by 10 years' probation. Under state sentencing guidelines, the judge could have imposed anything from 23.3 years to life.

Paris will be eligible for release from prison after serving 85 percent of his sentence, or 25.5 years.

They'd better be keeping him for every second of that 25.5 years. And I hope he's getting some serious psychological treatment the entire time.

Little Ronnie died Jan. 28, six days after slipping into a coma with swelling on both sides of his brain. His mother, Nysheerah Paris, told police her husband beat Ronnie and slammed his head into a kitchen wall. Nysheerah Paris, 20, is charged with child neglect and could get 15 years in prison if convicted.

She first lost custody of her son when he was 5 months old because she overfed him, which made him vomit profusely, according to records kept by the Florida Department of Children & Families. Ronnie went to live with his paternal grandparents and father, only to return to the hospital with broken bones, records show.

The state eventually placed Ronnie with Faye Bing, a foster mother who told child welfare workers she would take the boy permanently if necessary, but Ronnie's parents married and were trying to satisfy the state's requirements.

Ronnie Paris Jr. took parenting classes, and a caseworker recommended the toddler's return. He died six weeks later.

See, this is the kind of thing that terrifies me about becoming a social worker.

Paris apologized to his family, the attorneys and the judge for bringing them into the courtroom. ``I loved my son dearly,'' he said. ``I wish I could hold him here. ... I never did anything to hurt my baby or abuse my baby in any way.''

Paris begged for mercy and described himself as ``honest,'' adding, ``I'm not a drug dealer. I don't wear my pants off my butt. I work hard for everything. ... I'm still mourning for my son's death. ... I'm sorry, ma'am, I don't have an answer for a cause or who did what.''

Fleischer clearly was conflicted. She said she didn't think Paris was ``an evil man,'' but added she didn't believe he was remorseful.

She said she thought the system had ``failed miserably'' in this case but that Paris was responsible for his own actions.

It's that lack of remorse that gets me.

I don't believe in the death penalty, but somehow, 30 years doesn't seem like enough to me. Maybe he could be rehabilitated; I don't know. His homophobia is obviously so strong that it borders on psychosis.

This is just one of those sick, sick cases that really depresses me.

(Energy Dome tip to Julie and Shakes. Cross posted. Sorry about the downer.)