[jddj]

In this case, the deterrent makes sense.

The punishment so that the universe feels more fair to me isn't all that useful. Maybe as you suggest the mob lynchings in this case are unavoidable but I'm not convinced.

Happily (both for those who want to subjectively See Justice Done, and for those who upon reflection find it all a little perverse), the two don't really seem to be separable beyond a certain point.

[gjsman-1000]

It might work for you, but are you telling me that if you were the murderer in question, you wouldn't be afraid that the family wouldn't assassinate you at first opportunity if this happened to their daughter?

A heavy sentence is safety for the criminal as well.

[jddj]

That seems completely orthogonal to the point I disagreed with, which was (loosely, sorry) that punishment purely for punishment's sake is a social good.