The utilitarian justification for punishment would not only violate individual rights, it might also distort the relations between punishment and wrongful conduct. In our society, wrongful conducts are only wrong because we have rules to restrict our actions, and when these rules are broken punishment will be inflicted, therefore we understand breaking the rules are wrong. According to the utilitarian theory, punishment is only justified when social utility exist while inflicting punishment. Therefore, if a punishment somehow achieves zero social utility, such as it cannot reform the wrongdoer, nor can it protect or deter the rest of the society or do any other goods, then punishment will not be necessary even if the wrongdoer broke the law.
