As a follow-up to my point about punishment as deserved for the one who offended me, isn’t it possible that the punishment could serve as a way of rehabilitating him?

Punishment alone may help to change a person’s behavior at least in the short run, but if this person is deeply hurting from being wounded by others in the past, the residual anger or hatred needs to be healed if the punishment is going to be effective.  With hatred in his heart that is not healed, he may become even more entrenched in making others miserable.  In other words, the punishment, especially if it is excessive and not temperate, could intensify his anger.

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