There is no doubt a feeling of compensatory consolation involved, which is expressed in the statement made by the mother of two children quoted in the article: "To my surprise I felt nothing but relief that this scum is now long gone!" Isn't this exactly the feeling that the ruling class want you to have? You are supposed to feel a momentary relief at the destruction of minor criminals (a kind of poetic justice that is not otherwise available under capitalism, which justly and unjustly exploits you), and your desire to feel such relief gives more power to the state, which is not only full of major evils but safeguards the evil system of private ownership of the means of production with all its attendant evils, major and minor, one of which is the production of more criminals than otherwise possible.
Through the war on crimes, we've lost and had curtailed many civil liberties already. Why? Because enough people have felt that we must give more power to the state in order to punish criminals. Thus, a desire to punish or destroy minor criminals ends up punishing the entire masses of people. Remember that Biblical metaphor? Selling our birthright for a mess of pottage.
Yoshie