Should we, as people who are not currently in prison, not try to make prison living conditions better instead? Some things that come to mind are:
1. Nobody should gain monetarily from someone being sentenced to prison.
2. Nobody should gain monetarily from someone being sentenced to prison for a longer time.
3. We should ensure full physical security for prisoners. I am willing to entertain the idea of making common lunch / shower areas optional. A prisoner ought to have the option to not be in physical proximity of other prisoners if necessary.
4. There should be a way to report bad behavior / torture by other prisoners or by guards.
I think the question to ask here is not whether death is better than prison... What can we do to make our prisons better?