You — more generally, society — should pay the cost of keeping them in jail because that's what you (society) arbitrarily decided the punishment would be. It's

You — more generally, society — should pay the cost of keeping them in jail because that's what you (society) arbitrarily decided the punishment would be. It's not like there's some natural law saying fair evasion should result in 40 days in jail. Also, pretty sure life in prison for stealing $2.75 is a violation of the Eighth Amendment.