Judicial punishment' s power to deter people from committing crimes is a function of the severity of the penalty and the likelihood of one' s actually receiving the penalty  Occasionally, juries decide that a crime' s penalty is too severe and so refuse to convict a person they are convinced has committed that crime
Thus, increasing the penalty may decrease the deterrent power of judicial punishment
A new surgical technique is developed to treat a dangerous condition. This technique enables people to live longer than does an older form of surgery. But the new surgery's mortality rate is also slightly higher. Thus, if more people choose to undergo the new surgery, more people may die from the dangerous condition than previously.