California Law

[Tal]

I didnot and don't assume any of these things you say.

Your words betray you:

But here is what came before;
Jake a normal hardworking american smokes some mariuana.
Police start bothering him and while getting beat up Jake uses some swear words.
Jake gets sentenced to 5 years in prison.
In prison Jake gets raped, beaten up, and starts doing the same things to other people as well after 4 years of mental abuse by both wardens and fellow inmates.
Jake get released but of course cannot go back to his reasonably paid job he had before.
Jake, mentally completely messed up after 5 years of prison decides to rob a bank.
and this is where your story started.
Harsh punishments are OK, but at least make sure prisons are fair and do not make thinsg worse.

I'm making a point which says that tough laws and tough behavior most of the time don't have the right results. And the normal people have to suffer from this. And so to e.g. the law enforcers you rightfully mention.

I personally, after seeing the prison system, don't feel the punishments are tough enough. A lot of those guys live better in prison than their peers do outside.