Product of society

It's no secret that I don't believe in throwing away kids. Yesterday I was confronted with a true product of society. I went to school with a boy who was heavily bullied and at the age of 12 snapped and stabbed another kid in the back with a knife. While the wound was no more than superficial (only needing a band aid) the incident occurred just at the start of when schools were starting to see real violence in them. So as an example they put him in a men's medium security prison for 6 years. You can't even speak to him now, he won't make eye contact, wouldn't shake my hand...he is effectively a shell of the person I knew. Some of the same facial features but the eyes are gone, the sparkle that kids have...completely wiped out. He is now an adult who spends his days paranoid and angry, as in so many cases this anger comes from being scared but isn't it always easier to be tough and angry rather than lonely. I am not saying by any means that he should not have been punished, violence needs to be eliminated from schools. But can we not just look at the crime to make sure the punishment is appropriate but that the outcome after the punishment is what we want.