I think that's the idea behind "deterrence".
But at least ending up in an American prison isn't an actual death sentence. Mostly. They're certainly happy to consign people to cruel and unusual punishment though.
If it's deterrence which is the aim then something has gone badly wrong. The US has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world yet also the highest crime rate in the OECD. Sounds like the War on Crime is about as effective as the War on Drugs.