why do people undergo atonement if they cannot control their senses?

A thief may know perfectly well that he may be arrested for his stealing, and may actually even see a thief arrested by police 👮 , yet he continues to steal.
Experience is gathered by hearing and seeing. One who is less intelligent gathers experience by seeing , and one who is more intelligent gathers experience by hearing. When an intelligent person hears from law books that stealing is bad and hears that a thief is punished when arrested, he refrains from theft. A less intelligent person may first have to be arrested and punished for stealing to learn to stop stealing. However a foolish man, may have the experience of both hearing and seeing and may even be punished but still he continues to steal. Even if such person atones and Is punished by the law, he will again commit theft as soon as he comes out of jail. If punishment in jail is considered as atonement, what is the benefit of such atonement?
To be continued...