This is exactly why writers should never presume to tell readers how the story will make the reader feel.

The writer's job is to set up the scenario and write it in a way that is likely to achieve the desired emotional response.

From that point, it is up to the reader - the writer has thrown the ball, and cannot do any more to ensure that it falls through the hoop.

The judge should just say, "Think about your crime, while you wait in your cell for the hangman to come knocking. You will not know when that knock may come, but know this: when you hear it, that is the day you will die by strangulation or a broken neck."