Can Life Imprisonment Ever Be More Cruel than Execution?

I think it would be, but I’m glad I’ll never know.

Think about it. There are tons of stories (like fairy tales) about people who live forever, forced to watch others age and die, watch life pass by while they remain. The sorrow they feel only accumulates.

Now apply this to sitting about, being kept perpetually alive for decades on tax dollars, knowing the world outside is passing them by, doing the same exact thing day in, day out, living with people you hate. I can only imagine this is worse.

If the immortal men in such fairy tales wished for death, why can’t a prisoner? and if that’s what they want, why deny them that? It’s easier on the taxpayer’s wallet, and keeps criminals out of the gene pool (sounds cold, but that’s my view).

Seems to me that if they are sick of living they should have to commit suicide just like you or I would have to do.

I think death by cop is a horrible thing to do and death by exploiting the legal system is no different.

If they are really and truly dedicated to dying and not to forcing others to their will one more time for the road…they will come up with a way to git ‘er done all by themselves. Until then they are just gonna have to serve their sentence.

good point, @Merriment but then again, I’m not opposed to assisted suicide in extenuating circumstances, such as pulling plugs. This view kept me from even considering what you brought up. Good show.

Getting 3 meals a day, having a television set, a warm bed, and exercise equipment, plus all the time in the world laying around all day instead of being out on the streets——that’s more cruel than execution?! Sheesh! Lol.

To be honest, @MRSHINYSHOES that’s exactly why I agree with the death penalty, as well as oppose the long-term imprisonment of nonviolent criminals (petty theft, possession of marijuana), because often prison life’s cushier than life on the streets, and some people reoffend to get back into jail for the free college courses.

@MRSHINYSHOES if they unlocked the gates to the prisons, how many people would run in, and how many would run out? Prisons aren’t cushy resorts. You may have food, shelter and clothing, but you don’t have your freedom. You can’t go shopping at the mall, or watch your kid graduate, have sex with your girlfriend, go to a bar, hang out with your friends, etc.

And honestly, I think a lifetime in prison without parole is probably a harsher sentence than execution. Which is exactly what murderers and severe offenders deserve. I also think prisons need to find better ways to generate revenue from prison labor in order to defray cost to the state.

Part of me wonders if they renamed “life without parole” to “execution by God”, if more conservatives would change their opinion on the death-penalty.

@unused_bagels I do agree that long-term imprisonment of nonviolent criminals is counter-productive and wasteful. Drug addicts in particular, should be going to rehab facilities.

I have a friend who became addicted to heroin. The judge ordered him into treatment, and he actually turned his life around, and has been clean for several years. Now he is a productive, tax-paying citizen, soon-to-be father, married to a nice woman. Had he been sentenced to prison, the state would have spent a lot of money on him, and I doubt he’d be where he is now. He really is a different person today, so I know rehab is more than just a nice idea.

I saw a pretty shocking TV show about the wards in prison in the US that are specifically for the mentally infirm. Shocking stuff. I think state sanctioned killing is wrong in any case, but in this question, someone who WANTS to be put to death is usually considered having lost their faculties and thus mentally ill, so I would say, no, it’s not ok to kill someone who is asking to die when it’s NOT a clear euthanasia situation.

Either kill a person, or heal a person. Too much is based on “community retribution” in our subtly oppressive society.

If they are in for life, why not?

I am too claustrophobic to even think about committing a crime and having to go to prison, however, for those who aren’t plagued by anxiety attacks in tight spaces, prison may not be all bad. There are gangs, access to drugs, conjugal visits, free gym memberships, lots of friends with similar interests, etc.

I wish institutions were divided up into correctional facilities and rehabilitation facilities—the one you go to is determined by the circumstances of your crime(s) and your attitude. If prison were a bit less fun for serious offenders and a bit more rehabilitative for other offenders, the system might be more effective.

My dad was in jail for seven years. He’s been worthless practically his whole life, and as @MRSHINYSHOES said, he had three meals a day, (and since he was long term, those meals were good, I’m talking roast beef and mashed potatoes)

I remember once he was bitching that they took away the Showtime channel . . . WHAT?!!!! Do you know how many people make an honest living and can’t afford the luxury of premium channels?

He had a great physique b/c all he had to “worry” about was going to the gym.

He did not one productive thing the whole time he was there.

mrricj724. I saddened to learn of your experience.

@ItsAHabit

it’s ok, he was fine (obviously) and i was more than fine. as a child my family overcompensated because he was not there, so i got EXTRA love, more so than i probably would have received if he were “fine.”

I was watching something on the history channel about prison. I can’t remeber what it was called but it was interesting to see how the prison system had evolved. It was really bad before the early 20th century. The resaons why prisons are called penitentiaries is because it was a place where they were supposed to repent and rehabilitate.
@ItsAHabit I’m sorry, but I think we need the death penalty sometimes. And some people just can’t live with they things they’ve done. Prison isn’t supposed to be a good thing.

In the United States, prison is not a clean safe place as it should be and as it is in many other parts of the world. In prison you might be subject to regular abuse including rape, slavery, and torture, so this doesn’t come as a surprise. If you find this offensive, contact your congressperson and demand reform.

Has anyone here ever been in prison? So I don’t think any of us is qualified to answer this question.

Hmm…. Martha Stewart…...didn’t she spend some time in the Big Slammer?!

Martha knows many things from first hand experience.

Yes and this is why it should be used instead.

@Answerbagger I’ve toured a maximum security facility as part of an undergraduate class I took on the correctional system. It was very eye-opening. I think I have enough knowledge of the system to at least speak intelligently on many of the issues; although, if someone with more experience/academic study in this field were to step up, I would certainly expect them to have better answers than myself.

@Answerbagger Why would you think that only someone who has been in prison could know how awful it is?

@gorillapaws & @YARNLADY How can anyone know what it’s like? No disrespect but I don’t think touring one as a class can let you know what it’s really like to live in one. That’s something I never want to find out either!

@MarthaStewart Yeah, Martha Stewart was in prison for insider trading or something. Say, can’t you get in trouble for using the name and face of a famous person as your avatar? Or does being famous put their likeness in the public domain?

@Answerbagger not only did I tour the facility, but we interviewed prisoners, read books on the subject, listened to a semester’s worth of lectures on the prison system by a professor with a Ph.D. who’s dedicated her life to studying the correctional systems, did research and wrote essays etc. So yeah, actually I do think I have some intelligent thoughts on the subject.

As I’ve said above, “if someone with more experience/academic study in this field were to step up, I would certainly expect them to have better answers than myself.”