What this means is that capital punishment (and punishment in general) is not really punishment for a crime that has already been committed. Instead, capital punishment is supposed to prevent other people from wanting to commit the same kind of crime that has gotten someone executed. In other words, capital punishment is a deterrent, not really a punishment.
So in the quote, you hang a person not because he stole a horse. You hang him to scare others so they won't steal horses too.
Even today, this is a major argument in favor of the death penalty.
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