The typical life sentence in the UK is 15 years. That's bad enough, if the guy turns out to have been innocent. It gives us a chance to make some sort of compensation (though this isn't always done). But you can't possibly know his feelings, say sorry, or compensate if he's dead.

The UK prison service is bad, and getting worse. The US one appears to be a nightmare, the kind of disgrace that got Turkey its bad name back in the 70s. It might be no coincidence that the prison service here is being gradually privatised, and that many of the private firms involved are also major players in the US prison "market".