Should we not arrest master car theives because they are exceptionally talented? It's not unreasonable that their talent could be fit into some productive use. What about people who burglarize homes? Who fix soccer/football matches? Shoplifters? Assuming nonviolence in these cases. Would you preume perpetrators of all of those crimes just have to "work their asses off" to make up for "mistakes?" How do you arbitrarily draw a line and say such and such crime should not be punished or enforced and another should be?
Nope, we should not just arrest them. However, they should all be punished in some way.
'prison' and 'punishment' aren't synonyms. Make someone work their ass off to repay a crime IS punishment. As is locking them up, but by doing that, you severely decrease the chances of that person ever being a productive member of the society again.
Of course, should that person break the terms agreed upon, then I guess prison time is warranted as an additional punishment. And even in this case, with non violent criminals, in a setting where they can still work.
