Joe:

Not many responses here and none on your thoughts which are not far from my own. Not many people understand the difference between a level 2, 4, and 5 prison in terms of the amount of freedom available. Too many have watched Shawshank and believe in it. This rings true:

"All the same, for many (there is an old short story on this) life in prison is truly a hell. Not many, but a few death row inmates 'volunteer' to be executed, cutting off their appeals. For many, including me in some ways, life in prison might seem worse than death. This is one reason I don't think execution is necessarily a sound penalty even putting aside moral concerns etc. -- if we are just concerned with punishment, life in an American prison might be worse. This is curious in a way, since that would mean someone executed after ten years might be better off than someone in jail for twenty for rape. Execution remains problematic for various reasons either way."