Lest we blame the internet, attacking beloved trees is nothing new: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_Oak_(Austin,_Texas)
I agree that the perpetrator needs a punishment, but nine years is a very, very long time. Around here few first-time murderers need to sit that long.
But the Wikipedia article mentions the tree is sacred to the Comanche. Compared to what he would have endured at their hands hundreds of years ago, had he been caught by them, he's lucky :)