For much the same reason Plaxico Burress should face charges, Michael Phelps should be given the maximum sentence possible.  Maybe that would show middle america just how ridiculous those sentencing laws are.  Of course it's more likely he'll get the rich and white treatment, and the same people who get up in arms whenever a minority athlete gets caught doing anything will be the first to defend him.

For more information, including case studies, examples, and statistics see this fabulous post from Sports On My Mind  In fact this post was going to be a lot longer but he says everything I would except far more eloquently and with better citations.