Even if these men had been successful the rioters have already caused much more damage to local businesses. For example the cigar shop that Brown had robbed prior to assaulting Wilson was burned to the ground.
A slave is only productive to his master. In this case those people are government property. They know of no other reality so anything they do in their life has to include their master.
The same master will feed them for years, giving them orange jump suits for free for years to come...
No one cared to ask the name of that dude who got robbed, Now he has nothing.