Former Alaska Reps. Pete Kott and Vic Kohring have entered guilty pleas in their Alaska corruption cases and, if a judge agrees, will go free.

Has justice been done? No, not entirely.

Both men won retrials of their convictions because federal attorneys prosecuting them violated the law themselves by withholding evidence and information. Both were released from prison pending retrial. Kott served 17 months of a six-year sentence. Kohring served 12 months of a three-and-a-half year sentence.

Now they've struck a deal with prosecutors. Kott has entered a guilty plea to a single count of bribery; Korhring to a single count of bribery conspiracy. Both will be on probation, and Kott will have to pay a $10,000 fine. Prosecutors say Kohring is broke and can't afford any fine.

Neither will return to prison.

Had federal prosecutors done their jobs, we wouldn't be looking at plea bargains today. Chances are good -- given the clear-cut evidence in the cases -- that both men would have served more of their prison terms. Further, the need to lance the boil of corruption that had grown for years in the state Legislature would have been satisfied. As it stands, we have a negotiated end.

Federal prosecutors made a mess of these cases as they did of the case against the late Sen. Ted Stevens. The performance in that case was so outrageous that despite a jury conviction all charges were dismissed.

Alaska was ill-served by those it had counted on to expose and prosecute corruption.

But the most important point remains that Alaskans were betrayed by people they elected to represent them. Kott was Speaker of the House, a House that under his gavel became more Veco's than the people's. Kohring presented himself as the honest ideologue, and that was a fraud.

Both have at least admitted to corruption.

So if the judge agrees, it's cases closed. Past prosecutors subverted full, clean justice, so this measure will have to suffice.

For Alaska's sake, we hope diluted consequences are still strong enough to warn off would-be offenders.