What you’ve described isn’t a “personal code” it’s a desire for vengeance. I mean? You do you, but I reckon that seeking to hurt over seeking to rehabilitate hurts us more than it hurts the offender.

I’m not a big fan acquiesce whenever the state says “bend over” but that’s not what choosing to view them as people is doing. The state wants us to fear and loathe our fellow man. When you talk about “giving them what they deserve” you play right into their hands.

Hurt people hurt people, or something like that, so I don’t think hurting them harder is going to make them hurt less hard.