Yeah, I took it as an indictment of the current system, not a defense of it. If they'd meant it to be a defense they likely would have said something like "if y

Yeah, I took it as an indictment of the current system, not a defense of it. If they'd meant it to be a defense they likely would have said something like "if you can't do the time don't do the crime" and "It's called consequences", and other neutral to positive phrases. 'Cruelty' is generally considered a negative term; to apply it to something else is usually to pass judgement on that something else.