"punitive punishment"? Is there any other kind?
It's quite a blanket statement to claim that there is nothing childish about punishment. That such a blanket statement is clearly wrong is another matter. The present penal system is certainly ineffective while focusing nearly exclusively on punishment. That is infantile. Punishment without resolution is punishment for the sake of punishment with no benefit to anyone. If you don't like the word infantile, maybe sadistic and simultaneously masochistic are more appropriate.
I wish that someday those who believe that greater and greater punishment will eventually result in resolution would recognize that their own fortune in not having to face harsh environments was a key factor in their ability to avoid criminal activity (getting caught for criminal activity, anyway). Then maybe they would rethink the concept of punishing the unlucky.
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