The two primary rationales for punishment for crimes are deterrence and retribution. Does one seem like a better reason - does it depend on the type of crime? Does it make a difference that some types of crimes have much higher recidivism rates? For instance, some studies show it is extremely unlikely that someone who has committed a murder will commit another one and most studies show that most murderers have very low recidivism rates. Property crimes, however (like larceny), have extremely high recidivism rates