Despite their distaste, the betting here is that the lawmakers will vote the sternest punishments in years.

The Argentine leader seeks stern punishment for the latest mutineers.

Not under the sternest punishment are you to make a sound with them parted.

Mr. Rostenkowski will serve 17 months in prison and pay a $100,000 fine - an appropriately stern punishment that carries a loud warning against official corruption.

Even if the damage could not be undone, at least this large sum offered a good legal pretext for stern punishment of the thieves.

A precieuse who went to the Cardinal to implore mercy for a friend would be sentencing that friend to sterner punishment.

If Selig announced a stern punishment yesterday, it would have in effect told players that they could be disciplined for being candid.

New Yorkers respond with unanimous fury: Those guilty of the atrocity deserve swift, stern punishment.

Terrified parents, recalling the bloodshed at other schools across the country, demanded stern punishment.

As his advocate, I call on you to administer the sternest punishment.