Max Cady is Evil Monte Cristo
So this is basically a dark retelling of Count of Monte Cristo. Edmond Dantès/Max Cady is betrayed by people he trusted; gets imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit and loses everything; meets an old priest in prison who teaches him a valuable secret; somehow gets out and comes back in town with a new fortune and a dark, mysterious aura; gets back in touch with the people responsible for putting him away who are now esteemed members of society, and endeavors to destroy their lives; complete with poisonings, some secret lovechild drama, a son turning against his parents, and a lesbian daughter.
In Count of Monte Cristo, the prosecutor knew he was innocent, but destroyed the evidence because it also contained some information about his own family that would have jeopardized his future political career. This Cape Fear adaptation could be hinting at one more parallel plot point here, with Tom's dark secret about his dead brother which hasn't been explored much yet. Anna musing about "overcorrections" also suggests feelings of guilt for deliberately putting away a man she knew was innocent, and spending the rest of her career trying to atone for it. She doesn't seem to really know about Tom's brother though, so who knows what her motivations could have been?