Professed retributivists actually invoke utilitarian justifications in practice

Evidence

Conceptual differences between utilitarian and retributive morality at the abstract level fade in actual practice. Staunch retributivists argue for the death penalty on the grounds that it is a better deterrent. They also believe executions cost less than lifetime imprisonment. These are utilitarian justifications. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1883

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the vault’s claim about how nominal ideological positions bend in application — moral rationalization at work.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 1883