Headscratchers / Star Trek: Voyager: S5E9: "Thirty Days"

• Janeway sentences Tom to thirty days of solitary confinement with only basic nutrition and almost nothing to do, something that many cultures would consider a form of torture. What's make this more confusing is that Torres and Tuvok have also gone against Janeway's orders and the Prime Directive, and almost destroyed the ship in the process, but were only given a verbal warning. Or worse, there was the time Crewman Suder murdered a man for just for looking at him and Janeway had him put under house arrest in his quarters and allowed him a variety of activities to spend his time on, though Suder might well have been confined to quarters for life if the Kazon hadn't intervened.
  • That was back in the first couple of seasons. With Voyager's crew now firmly under her control, Captain Janeway can afford to be a bit more harsh on a crewmember who steals a shuttle and takes off on a private mission.
  • And there is a bit of a difference between punishments for enlisted crew and officers. Officers are expected to set an example for the lower ranks and maintain the moral authority to enforce the rules and regulations of the service, so punishments for officers are often harsher.