Did a federal judge give Arthur March a death sentence?

After all, March is 78-years-old and the judge's surprise five year prison sentence will make him 83 if and when his sentence expires.

Of course, U.S. District Court Judge Todd Campbell allowed Arthur March to be eligible for parole in about three and a half years, but who thinks he'll get it?

Not if Nashville Attorney Larry Levine, father of the murdered Janet Levine March, has anything to do with it.

And you can bet the Levines will be present at any future parole hearing fighting against early release for Arthur March.

Everyone must know by now that Arthur March is the father of Perry March, convicted killer of his wife, Janet.

She was murdered in 1996. He was finally convicted last month and is serving a 56-year prison sentence.

Arthur's attorney, Fletcher Long, worked out a plea-bargain with federal and state prosecutors for an 18-months sentence for his client, in return for Perry's father's full cooperation, including testimony against his son.

Prosecutors milked him for everything he knew.

Most people believe Davidson County prosecutors would have never made the murder charge stick against Perry without his father's testimony implicating his son in his wife's murder.

But Judge Campbell proved a prosecutor's deal is not necessarily a judge's deal. He has the legal authority to scuttle it and that's what he did.

The judge also ruled that Arthur March is not allowed in Tennessee during his two year probationary period; He cannot have any contact with any member or relative of the Levines; and he cannot have any contact, what-so-ever with his grandchildren, Sammi and Tzipora March.

That includes he cannot visit them even if they leave Tennessee and go to a college in another state.

The Levines said in a Victim's impact statement to the court that they believed the prosecutors' 18-month plea bargain with March was too light, and they wanted him to be incarcerated as long as possible.

Maybe Arthur March deserved 5 years for his involvement, but an awful lot of people still believe a deal is a deal.