Or maybe the motivation for punitive retribution is punitive, not corrective, so that the truth of the empirical theory has no bearing on the support for policy?

Disagreements on values often masquerade as disagreements on facts, especially because people often use fact claims oriented to their audience’s perceived values to sell actions based on different values to them.

sympathetic DAs are the wrong approach, hampering enforcement is the wrong approach. those are bandaids that are incompatible with society that doesn't have other structural changes. since those structural changes don't exist, all you have is amplified domestic security problems as more violence occurs without penalty, incompatible with the concept of civilization.

you're looking at this through the lens of more enforcement+penalties versus less enforcement+penalties, a false dilemma that's not what the rest of us are talking about.