I wasn't justifying anything. The person to whom I replied ignored a few obvious and valid arguments, and I was filling that void. Even if prison was entirely

I wasn't justifying anything. The person to whom I replied ignored a few obvious and valid arguments, and I was filling that void. Even if prison was entirely intended for corrections, it is punishment (a denial of freedom). So there is a fairness argument that if two people do reasonably similar crimes that they should get comparable sentences. That is just one argument though, and fairness (as always) is weighed against other arguments.