One of the things that doesn’t get mentioned, and should, is that significant sanction (including jail time) for corrupt public officials who abuse their positions doesn’t just act as a deterrent for other public officials who might start thinking of the same, it also acts as a safety valve to assure the public that the system actually does work and wrongdoers will be held accountable.
When that safety valve is taken away, when people begin to believe that their public officials can and will act with impunity, in violation of the rule of law, and will get away with it, society starts to change. And not in a good way.
Needs to be repeated. Often. Thanks.