Am I the only person who would rather die than spend life in prison?

[Renee]

This might be a GD question, but I'm kind of looking more for opinions here. When the death penalty comes up, I rarely hear anyone talking about the fact that I would think many people would chose execution over life imprisonment. Really, I would go so far as to say I would rather be tortured to death than spend several decades behind bars.

Can people choose to be executed when they're sentenced instead of life in prison? Have people done this?

How about you guys; kill me now, or let me rot away in a cell?

[shijinn]

there is always hope.

[shijinn]

i'd like to add that it is odd how it's considered more humane to lock someone up forever than to kill them.

[FourPaws]

I wouldn't want to spend life in prison. However, to me, I'd still rather be in prison for life than the alternative. as shijinn said, there's always hope.

[Khadaji]

I think it would be horrible to spend your days locked up. I don't know what I would choose, but I think after a while, death would be preferable.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Does the phrase "suicide watch" ring a bell or two?

[ParentalAdvisory]

If I were locked up for life, my time would be spent trying to escape. That would be my challenge, which I feel is something more worth while than dying.

[glee]

i'd like to add that it is odd how it's considered more humane to lock someone up forever than to kill them.

The most important reason is that someone in prison for life who is later proved innocent can be released.
Next reason - the search for the real murderer can now begin.
Society can also try to reform murderers and try to find out why they did it.

'INNOCENT is a Manchester-based organisation which supports and campaigns for innocent people in prison.'
http://www.innocent.org.uk/index.html

'New evidence has been unearthed by a BBC television programme which suggests that three men may have been wrongly convicted of a brutal murder.'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/69499.stm

[BrknButterfly]

I think if I was sentence either way, I would end up offing myself. No way would I want to go in a chair and get fried. Nor would I want to spend the next 20 to 40 years confind to a cell. Hanging myself from the bars on my own terms, that'd be my choice..

[Bayard]

Tough call. I'd probably pick prison, for many of the reasons stated below, and because I fear death. If I could have books and writing materials in jail, that would make it a more appealing alternative. I'd have time to finish my novel!

My wife and I were just talking about the "Supermax" prisons last night. I don't know what to do with the people who do the kinds of things that get them sent to a Supermax prison. But, keeping someone in a room, entirely cut off from human contact, for decades on end does seem incredibly cruel. I don't know how long I'd be able to handle that before I'd want to die.

[shijinn]

... The most important reason is that someone in prison for life who is later proved innocent can be released. ... i still don't see how that is more humane, but then it is my view that it's better to shoot a bird than to keep one as a pet.

btw what's the percentage of prisoners, who are sentenced to life in prison without parole, that are set free? discounting those released after retirement age if possible.


imo it would be more humane to allow prisoners the choice to choose between life in prison or death, that way the guilty can choose a quick death while the innocent can rot away in hell.

[Shagnasty]

I agree completely. In fact, it seems absolutely bizarre to me that anyone would be opposed to a humane death penalty given that life in prison is probably much worse especially in a Supermax facility. It also seems bizarre that a new finding of innocence and then release is held in such high regard about how much damage it it offsets. If you are found guilty of murder at age 20 and declared innocent at age 65, it isn't a "Ta da!" moment. Your life is ruined and gone either way. I am not opposed to either serious, long-term imprisonment or the death penalty but the firm distinction that many people make between them baffle me. I see them as basically the same thing although one or the other can be worse depending on individual circumstances.

[Fretful Porpentine]

Life in prison, for sure. As long as I could read and write and interact with other people, I think it would be quite possible to have a valuable and meaningful life in prison, if not exactly an enjoyable one.

Life in solitary confinement and total darkness, maybe not.

[Little Nemo]

Having actual experience in prison, I'll say that it sucks but it's a lot better than death.

[Evil Captor]

The other thing to consider is: what if you were guilty and had done something that merited a penalty of either death or life in prison. Would you still feel the same way about the choice? Maybe you would think you deserved the harsher option.

[Shagnasty]

Having actual experience in prison, I'll say that it sucks but it's a lot better than death.

Are you saying you have actual experience in both?

[Lionne]

Hell no! Freedom is the only thing that I couldn't live without.

[EsotericEnigma]

I'd much rather be locked up for life than to be killed, or put on death row. I'd do everything I could to try to find some sort of meaning or reason behind my new existence, and I'd spend my time trying to improve myself in any way I could. Reading, studying, writing, exercising, etc. Hell, with all that time I could do some really interesting things with myself.

I'd prefer solitary confinement, so long as I'm not stuck in a room with no other furnishings/utensils. Wouldn't bother me a bit if I never saw another person, at least for a long time. The people in prison generally aren't exactly the kind I'd like to spend my time with, anyway.

[Juliette: Culture Junkie]

Solitude does sound appealing, but I'd choose execution over life in prison any day. Personally, a quick death by cyanide pill or lethal injection seems much better than rotting for decades. Even with access to books, mail, etc., how much of that can really do any good in the end if you'll still be locked up? Aside from personal preferences, it would save gajillions of tax dollars to allow prisoners to chose between execution or imprisonment-- Trials and retrials for death-row inmates who don't want to die and room, board, etc. for inmates who'd rather be dead add up in cost, and this money could be better redistributed to healthcare, education, and other services for non-criminal citizens.

[glee]

... The most important reason is that someone in prison for life who is later proved innocent can be released. ...

i still don't see how that is more humane, but then it is my view that it's better to shoot a bird than to keep one as a pet.


You don't see how releasing innocent people from jail rather than telling their families they were wrongly executed is more humane? :eek:

I don't follow your analogy at all:

- birds aren't people
- some animals clearly enjoy domestication
- imprisoning someone is not 'keeping them as a pet'


imo it would be more humane to allow prisoners the choice to choose between life in prison or death, that way the guilty can choose a quick death while the innocent can rot away in hell.

Why do you want innocent people to rot in hell?
What is humane about that?

If you need more to think about, consider the difference between an innocent prisoner who is told he will be executed and one who knows people are fighting to release him.

[glee]

btw what's the percentage of prisoners, who are sentenced to life in prison without parole, that are set free? discounting those released after retirement age if possible.



I don't have a total % (obviously no authorities wish to admit they've executed innocent people, and it's difficult to investigate after the sentence has been carried out).
But here are some worrying cases:

Illinois Gov. George Ryan on Monday imposed a moratorium on the state's death penalty. All lethal injections will be postponed indefinitely pending an investigation into why more executions have been overturned than carried out since 1977, when Illinois reinstated capital punishment.
"We have now freed more people than we have put to death under our system -- 13 people have been exonerated and 12 have been put to death," Ryan told CNN. "There is a flaw in the system, without question, and it needs to be studied."
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/01/31/illinois.executions.02/

The paper also has exposed problems in Texas' death penalty system. In 2004, it revealed the faulty science behind the arson investigation that led to the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. Last year, a Houston Chronicle investigation cast serious doubt on the evidence that sent Ruben Cantu to the death chamber.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-tx-about-story,0,7358719.htmlstory

The possibility that innocent people wrongly convicted of murder will be put to death in the United States is growing, says a study released yesterday by a group critical of capital punishment.
"The current emphasis on faster executions, less resources for the defense and an expansion in the number of death cases mean that the execution of innocent people is inevitable," concludes a report issued by the Death Penalty Information Center.
The report identifies 69 people released from death rows...
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-742992.html

[Alice The Goon]

I bet over 95 percent of people that think they wouldn't be able to live in prison could be perfectly content there after some time had passed inside. That's the thing about being human- we can easily adapt. A body can get used to almost anything.

I can even see some advantages to it- you don't have to worry about paying bills, buying presents, making decisions, driving in traffic, cleaning house, or working if you don't want to. You can even get a free college education if you're in long enough. With my dominating personality, I wouldn't be somebody's bitch, I'd have a bitch. Some days, the prison life actually sounds good!

[Boyo Jim]

I believe it is ethical to offer assisted suicide as an alternative to life in prison -- at any time during the sentence.

[fisha]

This argument, by definition, says that imprisoned people and their life have no value.

I beg to differ. Think of all the books written, the plans and dreams. Gandhi, Mandela, Solzhenitsyn, just to name a famous few, might all beg to differ on the value of their life, even while incarcerated.

I'm sure that during their time, if someone was to offer them suicide, they would've seriously thought it, wished it. What a loss that would've been.

Even while in prison, people still have value, and can contribute.

[Alice The Goon]

I don't believe that it is ethical to offer that alternative, at least not during sentencing or the first few years of the sentence. Being sentenced to life in prison would be extremely stressful, I imagine, and many people under that kind of stress would be very emotional and/or not thinking clearly. To offer a life-altering (-ending) alternative during that time is not wise. Maybe after 10 years or so if they wanted to choose suicide, I could go along with it.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Having actual experience in prison, I'll say that it sucks but it's a lot better than death.
I'll ditto this, having worked in a prison now for nearly six years, and having seen plenty of death up close and personal in the last 25 years.

[Kilvert's Pagan]

If I knew with certainty (if that's possible) that I'd never get out again, I'd choose suicide. Otherwise any self-improvement opportunities in prison would seem utterly pointless.

I'm also surprised that there's been no mention thus far of afterlife considerations being part of such a choice. As an atheist, I would have nothing to look forward to in any case, but I would think that for some people this would matter.

[Cluricaun]

It's never going to be an option for me, as I will never be taken alive. ;)

[Helen's Eidolon]

I'm clearly insane. My first thought was: well, that depends on their library facilities. Would they have inter-library loan?

[Boyo Jim]

And I couln't live with merely dial-up speed on my internet connection.

[Red1980]

This might be a GD question, but I'm kind of looking more for opinions here. When the death penalty comes up, I rarely hear anyone talking about the fact that I would think many people would chose execution over life imprisonment. Really, I would go so far as to say I would rather be tortured to death than spend several decades behind bars.

Can people choose to be executed when they're sentenced instead of life in prison? Have people done this?

How about you guys; kill me now, or let me rot away in a cell?

I'm with ya here. But mostly because I value my anus. I would not do well in prison. Either I'd learn to fight, or I'd have a hard time sitting down for the rest of my life. I don't like hurting people, and I don't like getting hurt, and I certainly wouldn't like getting raped. I would definately opt to die rather than spend 50+ years in jail. Then again, if I was the type that would do something to get me 50+ years in jail, I probably wouldn't mind hurting people or getting hurt, and would therefore not be likely to be raped. But really... If I was doomed to spending the rest of my life in jail, what's the point in living? All I'm doing is wasting tax dollars, not contributing jack **** to society. Just kill me and get it over with.

[PunditLisa]

It's not just the OP who'd rather die than spend life in prison:

http://www.drc.state.oh.us/web/Executed/executed25.htm

See the "volunteer" notation under the county name.

[Trunk]

I'd much prefer it to death.

Exercise every day, get a lot of reading done. You can always find someone to play cards or chess with.

No crazy women to deal with.

I bet I could get used to it.

[Weirddave]

Glee,


Your argument always struck me as absurd in the extreme. Since 77, in the US, we have executed about 1000 people. Of those, there is question about maybe a handful being innocent, so, say, 5- 10 possible innocents executed out of a population of hundreds of millions of people. Your chances of getting struck by lighting are an order of magnitude greater. That's not to say that we shouldn't always try to perfect the system, we should, but to claim that we should get rid of the death penalty because of the extraordinarily unlikely possibility of an innocent man being executed is ridiculous. No human endeavor is perfect, but frankly, I wish more of them ran to the degree of perfection found in the DP.

[Annie-Xmas]

This argument, by definition, says that imprisoned people and their life have no value.

I beg to differ. Think of all the books written, the plans and dreams. Gandhi, Mandela, Solzhenitsyn, just to name a famous few, might all beg to differ on the value of their life, even while incarcerated.

I'm sure that during their time, if someone was to offer them suicide, they would've seriously thought it, wished it. What a loss that would've been.

Even while in prison, people still have value, and can contribute.

Which of those three were imprisoned for murder?

The only author I can think of who wrote while in prison for murder was Jack Abbott (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Abbott). How nice that he could contribute to society and get paroled! It all ended like a fairy tale. :rolleyes:

A Grimm fairy tale, that is. :eek: And he chose suicide over prison.

[shijinn]

glee, my original comments didn't refer to innocents in particular, just prisoners facing a lifetime behind bars.

You don't see how releasing innocent people from jail rather than telling their families they were wrongly executed is more humane? :eek: ... but at what price? what i'm saying is lifetime imprisonment, or worse wrongful imprisonment, can be as bad as death. a bird is meant to fly, caged up and domesticated is no way to live. i'm not sure a domesticated inmate who enjoys life in prison is any better. ... Why do you want innocent people to rot in hell? ... i didn't say that. that option allowed the guilty to choose a quick death, while the innocent will just have to hold up against hope .. or give up. i just wonder how much hope there is? and when.

[fisha]

Which of those three were imprisoned for murder?

The only author I can think of who wrote while in prison for murder was Jack Abbott (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Abbott). How nice that he could contribute to society and get paroled! It all ended like a fairy tale. :rolleyes:

A Grimm fairy tale, that is. :eek: And he chose suicide over prison.

Murder wasn't a necessity for the OP.

Murder doesn't have to be the crime in other countries for a life sentence, or a death sentence.

Most murderers are NOT sentenced to life in prison, or death row in Amreica.

Nice dodge on my post, rolleyes included.

[Antinor01]

After mulling this question over, I think I'd prefer death to anything over 20 years prison.

[jackdavinci]

I would pick prison. Echoing the sentiments of, if I were innocent, I might be able to get out at some point. Plus, I tend to be a contemplative, solitary sort of person anyway. If it were a blue collar prison things might not be too bad. I could start that novel I've been meaning to, work out, be the bunkmate of some hunky latino guy... ;)

[Renee]

I really didn't start this thread to argue with peoples opinions, but I wanted to address a few posts.

The other thing to consider is: what if you were guilty and had done something that merited a penalty of either death or life in prison. Would you still feel the same way about the choice? Maybe you would think you deserved the harsher option.That's the thing about this kind of thought experiment. I'm not the kind of person who would end up in prison, period, so it's difficult for me to think that way. And I think the kind of person who would do something that would merit a life sentence probably has a pretty warped sense of morality. I also don't see how one choice is more moral than the other--if anything I would think that choosing to die is more of a net benefit to society than the alternative, aside from the occasional novel.

I'd prefer solitary confinement, so long as I'm not stuck in a room with no other furnishings/utensils. Wouldn't bother me a bit if I never saw another person, at least for a long time. The people in prison generally aren't exactly the kind I'd like to spend my time with, anyway.Do you get to pick, though? It seems like a lot of people have this vision of prison where you have your own small room, unlimited reading material, and everyone just basically leaves you alone or brings you food every once in a while. My vision of prison isn't so nice, and includes things like a cell mate and people telling me what to do all the time.

Prison guys, who's right? Do you get your own cell, usually? How's the library?

I don't believe that it is ethical to offer that alternative, at least not during sentencing or the first few years of the sentence. Being sentenced to life in prison would be extremely stressful, I imagine, and many people under that kind of stress would be very emotional and/or not thinking clearly. To offer a life-altering (-ending) alternative during that time is not wise. Maybe after 10 years or so if they wanted to choose suicide, I could go along with it. I have to disagree with this. If someone wants to end their life, especially someone who is such a drain on resources as life long prisoners are, they should be allowed to. I think a waiting period is appropriate; say, maybe, 6 weeks or something, but 10 years?

[Cicero]

The green dream for me.

[Cicero]

The most important reason is that someone in prison for life who is later proved innocent can be released.
Next reason - the search for the real murderer can now begin.
Society can also try to reform murderers and try to find out why they did it.

'INNOCENT is a Manchester-based organisation which supports and campaigns for innocent people in prison.'
http://www.innocent.org.uk/index.html

'New evidence has been unearthed by a BBC television programme which suggests that three men may have been wrongly convicted of a brutal murder.'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/69499.stm

Why can't the search for the real murderer start even if you are dead? That is absurd.

[Bryan Ekers]

It's never going to be an option for me, as I will never be taken alive. ;)
TOP OF THE DOPE, MA!

[chowder]

[QUOTE=Trunk]I'd much prefer it to death.



No crazy women to deal with.

Yes but what about the crazy men?

Apart from that my opinion is that we would all cling on to life no matter what, death? fuck that for a game of soldiers

[control-z]

Hard to decide really. Prison might not be that bad, if there wasn't any raping involved. If there was I'd probably die fighting anyway sort of like Cool Hand Luke.

Can I have Internet in prison?

If I wasn't guilty I'd probably work on escape.

[chowder]

If I wasn't guilty I'd probably work on escape.

Ya gotta see Red if ya want a rock hammer :p

[Little Nemo]

Do you get to pick, though? It seems like a lot of people have this vision of prison where you have your own small room, unlimited reading material, and everyone just basically leaves you alone or brings you food every once in a while. My vision of prison isn't so nice, and includes things like a cell mate and people telling me what to do all the time.

Prison guys, who's right? Do you get your own cell, usually? How's the library?Most inmates do not live in a single cell. If I were guessing a ballpark figure, I'd estimate about two thirds of the inmates in NY (where I work) share their living quarters with one or more other inmates.

Prisons have libraries. They're okay but you're not going to find current best-sellers or anything too obscure in them. You can borrow books for cell reading but I'll let you in on a secret; there's a lot of thieves in prison. Many books get borrowed and never returned.

Internet access is illegal.