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Technically speaking, retribution is a punishment dealt to someone for committing a crime, so any prison sentence is an act of retribution.

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I'd argue that if the intention is entirely to rehabilitate (and incapacitate if necessary) then a prison sentence would only incidentally be a punishment.

If the intention was to rehabilitate, then they wouldn't have sentenced a non violent offender to 2 life sentences.

Giving someone a life sentence means you (or the justice system at large) are either unwilling or unable to rehabilitate that person.

Don't get me wrong - I don't believe that the US "justice system" is at all concerned with rehabilitation. Giving 2 life sentences to a non violent drug offender is ridiculous.

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