I definitely see a difference between "evil" and "stuff what hurts someone." The former is a subcategory of the latter in my eyes -- no harm, no foul; I don't think that an action, however malicious the intent, can be evil if it doesn't actually do anyone any damage, which is why I don't believe in the concept of "evil thoughts" -- but only a subcategory. To be evil, something has to be both harmful and either deliberate or negligent (either of which imply done by a conscious being), and the hurt done has to be unnecessary to prevent greater harm and known (or should have been known) to be unnecessary. (Thus, for example, Tom Paxton's example of the refugee with two babies and one broken arm, who puts one down and walks on carrying the other so that at least one may live, is not committing an evil act, merely a tragic one, even though she is knowingly and deliberately taking an action which will harm someone.)

Whether it is evil to knowingly do something unnecessarily harmful to someone who thoroughly deserves it is a question I have not yet answered to my own satisfaction.