[caskstrength]

> Besides (potentially) rehabilitation, prison serves to protect the populace from dangerous people who would harm others and as a deterrent to others who can see what punishment they might get if they do something illegal.

It is not like he will be getting away with a slap on the wrist one way or another. I just don't see more years in prison past some reasonable threshold as a good deterrent.

> I am not claiming prison does a good job of these things, just that its goal is not to "ruin people's lives".

The purpose of a system is what it does.