I would rather live in a society that severely punishes bad behavior after it happens as a deterrent to others who would be tempted to do the same than live in

I would rather live in a society that severely punishes bad behavior after it happens as a deterrent to others who would be tempted to do the same than live in a society that imposes ever more restrictions in an effort to prevent misbehaviors from happening in the first place. Obviously neither is good if taken to its most extreme, but I feel we should skew heavily towards the former.