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I've always wondered about this, though I admit it may be difficult to get an accurate measure of what I'm about to ask:
But how effective were public executions, gore-ings, shame-ings, etc, at actually detering would-be criminals from committing unlawful acts?
Aside from the political motivations that were undoubtedly linked to the way criminals (political opponents) were sentenced to their punishment, how effective was it from a purely judicial standpoint?