Punishment is not an official goal of the government. Nevertheless, in practice it certainly is a goal, as required by the people the government represents. Pu

Punishment is not an official goal of the government. Nevertheless, in practice it certainly is a goal, as required by the people the government represents. Punishment is a goal of many victims and of people who believe punishment discourages crime. When the perpetrator is brought to justice, the victims-turned-accusers will demand punishment. It is the goal of the government to represent their interests. It partially does this by setting up the prison system as it is and imposing prison sentences. If dealing out punishment, as wished by the victims, was not an indirect goal contributing to the way things are, prisons would be more comfortable. The circumstances in prisons, their austerity and severity, cannot be explained except by wanting to punish the people in there. They are not optimally suited for only rehabilitation and protection of the public. This is of course entirely understandable.