Agreeing with what you say. But the criminal system’s purpose is not just prevention. Actually, nobody is really sure what its purpose is. Why do parents, whe

Agreeing with what you say. But the criminal system’s purpose is not just prevention. Actually, nobody is really sure what its purpose is. Why do parents, when they get really angry, sometimes hit a child? Psychology has proven that doing so is a really terrible way of preventing further infractions. So the impulse to punish is not necessarily rational. A whole religion has been built on the idea of consciously letting go of the urge to judge and punish - and it hasn’t worked out for 2000 years. So one reason why the government punishes criminals is to take the wind out of the sails of all the private parties that otherwise would cry for punishment of that person, or take it into that own hands. In that sense, it is essentially a power move by the state in order to remain in control and “keep the peace”.