I certainly don't condone plagiarism, but I've come to appreciate that people fail and as an outsider it is doubtful you will ever make sense of everything that is going on in their life that led to their failure. A repeat offense is one thing, but a single offense should be allowed some consideration.
Sorry, not in this field. Science is having enough of a hard time lately as it is, it doesn't need anyone who has such disrespect for honesty and truth anywhere near it.
This one needs to be categorical. In fact I would support civil or even criminal prosecution, for misuse of public funding if there is any government money behind their fraudulent research.
In my mind, this is "white collar" crime, pure and simple. The repercussions should be life-changing.
