so there is no deterrence value in publicly prosecuting her
It doesn’t have to deter her. It’s following through on your threat to show others that you’re the sort of person/government/society that follows through on your threats.
Yeah, I get that point. That is why I started the sentence with “no one else knows” so that the society hasn’t gained any knowledge about the situation. Thus letting her go doesn’t show others anything. But maybe the thought experiment is so convoluted that it doesn’t really work.
It doesn’t have to deter her. It’s following through on your threat to show others that you’re the sort of person/government/society that follows through on your threats.
Yeah, I get that point. That is why I started the sentence with “no one else knows” so that the society hasn’t gained any knowledge about the situation. Thus letting her go doesn’t show others anything. But maybe the thought experiment is so convoluted that it doesn’t really work.