I presume you mean prosecution, though that, too, is not the correct term. In any case, what you write is not really true. Public safety is a concern, yes, but

I presume you mean prosecution, though that, too, is not the correct term. In any case, what you write is not really true. Public safety is a concern, yes, but there's more to it. There's maintenance of the social order, there's correction of the criminal, and yes, there's vengeance. Justice is not justice without penalty for the crime. It's important to understand that revenge, as it is traditionally understood, is not motivated by hatred or draconian in nature, but is rather a virtue. What is today sometimes meant by "revenge" is a corruption of the traditional meaning, i.e., something motivated by hatred, something draconian and even vigilatist.