> Imagine the worst torture you can think of that doesn’t leave the victim disabled, something you can’t deny is cruel: burning, flogging — take your pick. If the victims themselves would prefer this torture to imprisonment, the inescapable conclusion is that prison is worse, even more cruel. I, and every prisoner I have asked, would prefer any amount of pain and cruelty, for a limited duration, to the years and decades we’re forced to spend here—spirits crushed, hope abandoned, relegated to irrelevance.<p>People will say they choose all sorts of theoretical punishments that have no chance of happening. In reality, I doubt very many people would actually go through with it if actually given the chance.