They are to be - not just punished officially - but unofficially as well, by hundreds of thousands of Australians and sports fans all over the world who want some sort of permanent payback.
And that is why the prisons report out here last week misses the point. The report, written in part by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, the PM's chief science adviser, I have no doubt makes scientific sense - it will be well researched, well thought out and delivered with real intellectual rigour.
But the same mentality that wants Smith and Warner banished wants criminals punished above and beyond anything a judge might hand out. In other words, we like tough justice.
The Gluckman report argues we want fewer prisoners, more bail, more rehab, more intervention at a young age. Their argument is, you do that, and you get less crime, fewer criminals and save millions from not needing a never-ending series of new jails. And all of that may be true, in theory anyway.
And here's why the report falls flat: it hasn't worked. We've tried it, it doesn't work. And it doesn't work, I assume they would argue, because we haven't done it properly and they may well be right. But in a world of simple solutions here's what does work: bars.
When you're behind them, you don't commit crime. And the trouble with justice and the judicial process is it's a mix of politics and criminology. The political aspect is not about what works, but about what's wanted and what's wanted - certainly these past couple of decades - is tougher sentences.
We have been given what we wanted, and the crime rate is down. Yes, there are a lot of people in prison, but that apparently is where we like them. And yes, it costs a fortune but it's an invisible bill. We never see it, out of sight out of mind: both the crooks and the bill for it.
Alternatively, the social side of the equation. The welfare agencies, the kids who have been bashed, the thugs on bail. What have we seen of that? Failure. A risk not worth taking.
So what we have here is a classic report arguing theory vs our reality, and our reality is justice is tough, - and the tougher the better.
Whether you've rubbed a ball with sandpaper or robbed a bank, you're a crook, and forgiveness isn't all that high up the list of our priorities for you.