Alabama teabagger Brian Downing gets two years in prison

Brian Downing, the Alabama fan who pleaded guilty to teabagging a passed out LSU fan following the BCS National Championship Game earlier this year, was sentenced to two years in prison, NOLA.com reported on Thursday.

We mentioned last month that Downing had entered a guilty plea to lesser charges and that he was facing two years in prison, but it’s still pretty shocking to see that sentence. The guy did something lewd and crude, but who would figure that a nasty college prank that didn’t physically endanger another person would result in a two-year prison sentence?

NOLA.com has a poll on its site asking readers to vote whether or not they felt justice was served. As of this writing, 2,613 votes had been cast. 51.5% felt justice was served, 36.6% said no, and about 11% felt undecided or “other.”

I understand this was an embarrassing experience for the victim, and that what Downing did was pretty gross, and done in public, which is pretty nasty, but two years just seems quite excessive to me. I guess when you’re facing 10 years in prison and being forced to register as a sex offender, this is a better alternative. His lawyer says he could be out in nine months, which seems much more reasonable.