Barbaric punishments don't just affect the criminal, they also set an example of barbarism for the rest of society to emulate. That's why back in the halcyon days of old, bear baiting, dog-fighting, lynching and other cruelties were accepted as nothing out of the ordinary.
The problem with justice is that it cannot make such crimes as if they never were. That should not, however, be licence to indulge in revenge instead.
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Better educated sadness than oblivious joy.
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