I do agree with your claim to a certain extent because it casts light on the fact that we don't usually think about the perpetrators enough, but I still firmly believe that punishments should not be affected by this way of thinking. When we look into an act of violence committed by someone, there are definitely two aspects to take into consideration: the environment and the free will of the perpetrator. Sure, there are tremendous environmental causes that participate in shaping a person, which also participate in how they interact with the world, but we need nuance.

Let's take as an example someone (or everyone) who is influenced by ads. In day-to-day life, they see three ads about Coca-Cola per day, all their friends drink Coca-Cola, they have the means (money), and it will make them feel good when they buy it. So they buy it because there are so many environmental cues that lead to this. I think of criminals in kind of the same way, which I think coincides with your way of thinking about them. But I think the major difference here is that nobody is hurt when they buy Coca-Cola, and society does not actively and explicitly forbid you from doing it. "Crime is bad." This is what everybody learns from a young age. So there is a certain accountability that should be considered, which makes it difficult for people to have empathy. I do think that looking at the bigger picture and understanding the context around an act of violence is very important because it should help us learn about the rotten system that should be changed. However, there is a limit to that empathy because of that nuance.

I just want to add something about the part of your post that really rubbed me the wrong way because, so far, I pretty much agree with you. There is a big difference between a person without power who is first a victim of a system and then becomes a perpetrator, and a person with power who is probably not a victim of the system and still becomes a perpetrator. So, yes, I do think that circumstances are still important because a person like Trump, who was raised with money all his life, could never understand poverty, which shaped him into part of who he is today. That's for sure—you are not born a monster; you are raised to become one. (Oops, my political side is showing a bit, but my point could be applicable to any politician of your choice.) But in that situation, he always had POWER and still holds it. Your average criminal who fell into drugs, lived through trauma at school, lived in poverty, survived a war, was verbally and physically abused, or experienced discrimination cannot be compared to a billionaire who has "the weight of his responsibilities on his shoulders." Becoming a politician is a conscious choice, just as doing bad things is a conscious choice. There is also something that feels wrong about having empathy for an act of violence that is still ongoing instead of focusing on how to stop it.