Yes, a very large number of people are in prisons for stealing far far far less money. Most people are in prison for violent crimes, then some for drugs, then

Yes, a very large number of people are in prisons for stealing far far far less money. Most people are in prison for violent crimes, then some for drugs, then theft. But the motivation of seeing punishment as itself a good thing rather than a thing that achieves a downstream outcome overlaps. I don't know what exactly you mean by this, but maybe we should be an evolved and caring society and let everyone out of jail and prison because punishment is cruel. but "people who do bad things should just be crushed" is a key element. Let's be clear that someone who stole 11 billion dollars going away for 2 years is not "being crushed". Almost anyone on the planet would go to prison for 2 years just to be able to invest 11 billion for a few years and give back the principle. At only 4%, that's 440 million dollars a year or $1.2 million a day.