Interesting thread.

I can see both sides of the argument here but must admit that for some crimes, particularly those involving children, I would tend toward the death penalty - not as a deterrent as I feel that the people who commit those crimes will do it regardless of the consequences - but to protect the rest of society from further abuses. Unfortunately in the UK the idea of a 'life sentence' does not mean staying in prison until death these days.

While I am aware that people can change I feel that someone guilty of murder, if they changed and repented of their crime, should then agree that such a crime deserves that they forfeit their freedom for the rest of their life. Otherwise, are they truly repentant?

Re the cost of incarceration - why not make them work for anything above the basic needs of life? The media may be exaggerating the conditions in prisons but it does seem that things are relatively easy in UK prisons for some of the 'celebrity' clients. When they have the opportunity for study that many law-abiding citizens are denied due to lack of time or finance there does seem to be something wrong with the system.