Punishments

Punishments... What is a punishment, anyway? Is it the pain, the suffering, or maybe the regret, that you are expected to go through when going against another man's rights? Is it catharsis of some sort? I think not.
It is some sort of a public "back whip lashing", you need to accept to please those, who think that you have done something they didn't like. It's a "raise moral" thing, actually. And it has "God", written all over it.
Punishment, is a word that always goes, hand in hand, with God. But picture this:
"You, are spending a nice evening with your family, at home. And suddenly, a man, armed with a gun, breaks through the door, and shoots one of your loved ones. He tries to shoot you, but the gun gets jammed, and he panics. A few seconds later, runs in a young cop, that have heard the gunshot. The armed man, swiftly turns to the cop, with his gun aimed at him, but the cop shoots him."
So, what do we have?
A man, went against the rights of all present, but the cop, and himself. Did the punishment fit the crime? No. It haven't brought your loved-one back to life, nor healed the mental scars of your family and the shocked cop's. So, basically, a lot of people paid a price, for another man's bad decision. That's not fair.
And you know what? No matter how many laws we pass, to punish those who do wrong, we will never fix nothing. You can ban guns in your country, but a man who is willing to take the risk of murder, will also make it easier on himself, and get a gun. and this is a hard truth accept.
And this is where God comes in, and calms you down, with a big white smile. And he softly says: "I did it". It's easier to take it this way, because god is perfect, and he makes no mistakes.
But then again, imagine an 8 year old kid, who lives with his father and his 12 year old sister, because his mother died of an overdose of heroine, when he was 4 years old. He has an abusive father, who one day "snaps" under the pressure, takes a gun, shoots his son in the leg, rapes his daughter, beats her up with a baseball bat, and shoots himself in the head. By the time both kids are found, the wounds get worse, and the doctors, have to amputate the kid's leg, and his sister, will be institutionalized for the rest of her days (but she kills herself, when she hits 20). Does this kid deserved any of this? This time, he has no possible reason to blame himself. For what? He was 8 years old, for Gods sake! What has he done wrong? Is God "testing" him? If he does, what is so special about this kid? Why don't we all get "tested" the same way? and most importantly -

...what is there to say to that kid?