# Is life without parole worse than the death penalty? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 22, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410 "2016-12-22T23:57:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Calico\_Jack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calico_jack/32/7320_2.png) [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/1 "2016-12-22T23:57:17Z")
What’s your opinion on this? I can see some people argue that being isolated in a cell for decades with no chance of freedom is more torturous than a quick and easy death, but that’s just me. If I was in prison with no chance of escape I’d much rather end it quickly than spend the next 50 years slowly going insane staring at the same crack in the wall day after day. Personally I’d be fine with removing mandatory death sentences, but making a voluntary death sentence available to anyone sentenced to life without parole. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/2 "2016-12-23T00:11:46Z")
People are seldom isolated in cells for decades; that is called solitary confinement. A voluntary death sentence is easily available in prisons: all you have to do is insult the wrong person. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/3 "2016-12-23T00:12:27Z")
Death penalties should be abolished, that’s what I think. ---
**Author:** ![Calico\_Jack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calico_jack/32/7320_2.png) [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/4 "2016-12-23T00:15:04Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > People are seldom isolated in cells for decades; that is called solitary confinement. > > A voluntary death sentence is easily available in prisons: all you have to do is insult the wrong person. Well that is true, though in a “supermax” prison that’s essentially what they are confined to for example: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5we-t5-RZg) ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/5 "2016-12-23T00:15:39Z")
When I get sentenced to either, I’ll let you know ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/6 "2016-12-23T00:21:03Z")
There are different versions of life without parole. You seem to be describing a life sentence in a [Supermax prison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermax_prison) or at least long-term solitary confinement. Those are indeed bad to the point of hopelessness but most convicted criminals are not sent to those. There isn’t very much good about being in a regular maximum security prison but it isn’t all bad either. I have a childhood friend in Louisiana that was convicted of a cold blooded murder when he was 18 and was sentenced to life without parole but he still has some perks. I am not sure how it was arranged but he works outside the prison during the week just like anyone else and then returns at night. He can see family regularly and even interact with the general public. That is certainly not the same as being a free person but it also a far cry from being locked in a barren isolation cell for months or years at a time. Even prisoners in the [notorious Angola prison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_State_Penitentiary) can train for and compete in their [famous prison rodeo](http://www.angolarodeo.com/?q=node/7). Despite being huge and one of the most infamous prisons in the U.S. or the world, there are still prisoner run churches, events and even [a prisoner run radio station](http://www.prisonradio.org/media/audio/angola-three-herman-wallace-and-albert-woodfox). I certainly wouldn’t want to be there but it isn’t like life stops completely when you are in. Segregation and isolation are used as punishment or to protect prisoners. Most of the others have some opportunities if they want to take advantage of them even if they are in for life. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/7 "2016-12-23T00:23:44Z")
When you’re dead, you cease to exist. Punishment over. ---
**Author:** ![Calico\_Jack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calico_jack/32/7320_2.png) [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/8 "2016-12-23T00:25:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > When you’re dead, you cease to exist. Punishment over. So then life without parole is worse? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/9 "2016-12-23T01:06:31Z")
Which is “worse” depends entirely on the condemned person in question. Some will consider death worse. Some will consider life-without-parole worse. Personally, if I had to choose, I’d still rather live. There are a lot of things I could do, assuming I’m not at SuperMax. I could pray for people, write letters/correspondence, write novels, read, compose music, maybe still do something outside the prison like the other inmates described above. And who knows, maybe sometime down the road I might get a pardon or something and get to walk free, you never know. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/10 "2016-12-23T01:52:20Z")
Depends wholly on the conditions of incarceration. Solitary confinement, no social contact, no books, no music, forever ? Definitely worse than death, rapid descent into insanity to escape. Daily risk of violence and/or rape ? Worse than death as well. OTOH, permanent confinement in a safe area where one has access to a library, may see the sky once in a while and maybe learn a trade or art while still being 100% segregated from normal society would be both humane, safe for the public, and quite a bit better than the death penalty. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/11 "2016-12-23T02:06:35Z")
I’ve known more than a few ‘lifers’ in a max security prison. Two in particular have been my patients in that setting for well over a decade. They’ve built lives for themselves inside the walls. They have their hobby times, their library times, their recreation, their time in their unit lounges to play cards, socialize, watch TV together. And in their cells they have their own televisions, music players, other electronics. They write letters, work on their legal cases, work on their jobs in kitchen or maintenance or as chaplains assistants. They get visitors. They value their jobs and their other activities. They are not opting for death. That’s typical for lifers, in my experience. Not all are like that, but most come to some sort of accommodation/equilibrium with their situation. I’m told the trick is to not kill yourself during the first year. Get past that, and the risk of self-harm goes way down. And statistics bear that out, most suicide attempts/successes occur early during the incarceration. Things are different in the supermax prisons, and also for the guys who end up in segregation all the time, the “seg rats”. Deprive a man of the opportunity for meaningful interactions with other people, for physical and mental stimulation, for doing meaningful work, and overall happiness/acceptance goes way, way down. It’s amazing what people can adapt to and still find a measure of satisfaction in their lives. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/12 "2016-12-23T02:15:07Z")
I turned 21 in prison, doing life without parole. No one could steer me right. But momma tried. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/13 "2016-12-23T02:31:11Z")
> [@Calico\_Jack](#): > > Well that is true, though in a “supermax” prison that’s essentially what they are confined to for example: > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5we-t5-RZg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5we-t5-RZg) The prisoners in the only supermax in the US are there because of their violent behavior in prison not for what they did outside. [Supermax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermax_prison) > [@](#): > > It houses several inmates who have a history of violent behavior in other prisons, with the goal of moving them from solitary confinement for 23 hours a day to a less restrictive prison within three years. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/14 "2016-12-23T03:08:21Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > The prisoners in the only supermax in the US are there because of their violent behavior in prison not for what they did outside. > > [Supermax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermax_prison) That is mostly true in general but not completely. I shudder whenever my family in Colorado takes us past the most famous Supermax facility in the world in Florence, Colorado. It houses many “celebrity” prisoners like: Ted Kaczynski (the Unibomber) Terry Nichols - the perpetrator that didn’t get the death penalty for the Oklahoma City bombings like his friend, Timothy McVeigh did. I am not sure who got off easier. Zacarias Moussaoui - the only person convicted in civilian court of the September 11 attacks. Ramzi Yousef - mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Almost all of them went straight to the ultimate federal Supermax where they stay in isolation for 23 hours a day and then can go into another cell with an open roof for exercise and sunlight for the other hour. They have minimal contact with staff and almost none with other inmates. Food is given through a slot in the door and accommodations are spartan to put it mildly. It is meant to be the modern equivalent of a dungeon and more escape proof than Alcatraz ever hoped to be. The facility is protected against everything conceivable including overhead wires meant to thwart helicopter escape plans (the pilot will die if they try). You are almost correct though. The vast majority of prisoners there came from other institutions because they were too violent, dangerous and uncontrollable. They murdered guards or other prisoners, were powerful gang leaders or just caused general mayhem. The purpose of facilities like Florence is to institute a virtual death penalty in a carefully controlled setting where there is almost no freedom or chance to harm others. ---
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/15 "2016-12-23T03:37:17Z")
I think I would personally find life in prison worse and more cruel, but I would have to be in the situation in order to say for certain. I am, however, of the opinion that if a prisoner with a sufficiently long sentence requests to be put to death, via a procedure that would take at least a year during which he (or she) has to continue to affirm that he wants to die because he finds the conditions of being imprisoned more cruel than death, he should be allowed to be executed or otherwise die. I suspect few would take advantage of this, but I would like the option to be available. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/16 "2016-12-23T08:04:55Z")
I think it probably depends on the mental state of the prisoner, the conditions, and the crime itself. So if the government goes mad and gives me a life sentence for stepping on the cracks in the pavement, but gives me a not-uncomfortable cell, palatable food and reasonable access to, say, a woodworking shop, I’d be inclined to try to make the best of a bad situation. I wouldn’t say I’d be happy, but I wouldn’t wish for death. OTOH, if (I dunno) in a fit of uncustomary rage, I pushed a golden-haired dew-cheeked innocent child out of a window onto some iron railings, and my life sentence was to be spent in solitary confinement in a dark, damp cell, with only my thoughts to accompany me, I might not want to continue to be alive. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/17 "2016-12-23T08:26:18Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I’ve known more than a few ‘lifers’ in a max security prison. Two in particular have been my patients in that setting for well over a decade. They’ve built lives for themselves inside the walls. They have their hobby times, their library times, their recreation, their time in their unit lounges to play cards, socialize, watch TV together. And in their cells they have their own televisions, music players, other electronics. They write letters, work on their legal cases, work on their jobs in kitchen or maintenance or as chaplains assistants. They get visitors. They value their jobs and their other activities. They are not opting for death. > > That’s typical for lifers, in my experience. Not all are like that, but most come to some sort of accommodation/equilibrium with their situation. I’m told the trick is to not kill yourself during the first year. Get past that, and the risk of self-harm goes way down. And statistics bear that out, most suicide attempts/successes occur early during the incarceration. > > Things are different in the supermax prisons, and also for the guys who end up in segregation all the time, the “seg rats”. Deprive a man of the opportunity for meaningful interactions with other people, for physical and mental stimulation, for doing meaningful work, and overall happiness/acceptance goes way, way down. > > It’s amazing what people can adapt to and still find a measure of satisfaction in their lives. That tallies with what old lifers and long termers have told me. After a while (2-3 years) it becomes simply the place you live/work. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/18 "2016-12-23T14:31:14Z")
Just compare the number of “life without parole” people trying to get on Death Row, and vice versa, and you’ll have the answer. ETA: And is prison supposed to be a punishment, or rehabilitation or what? ---
**Author:** ![Calico\_Jack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calico_jack/32/7320_2.png) [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/19 "2016-12-23T14:48:00Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > The prisoners in the only supermax in the US are there because of their violent behavior in prison not for what they did outside. > > [Supermax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermax_prison) Well the Unabomber and a few others convicted of terrorism-related charges are there as well. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410/20 "2016-12-23T14:50:53Z")
> [@Calico\_Jack](#): > > What’s your opinion on this? My money is on life being parole being better than death. I’m basing this opinion on the fact that the overwhelming majority of people who _actually_ face a death sentence try to avoid it, by applying for a sentence commutation (and by this time, they probably have a good grasp of what life in prison is like). Plenty of people state that they’d rather be sentenced to death, but I don’t give much weight to how people (including myself) think they would react if they were facing extreme circumstances. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-life-without-parole-worse-than-the-death-penalty/775410.md?page=2)