Death penalty for rapists?

[Tiberius]

You don't think the confinement makes a difference? We don't send a baby to a limited prison, a baby can make whatever choices he likes.

Not in terms of the logic, no. You said a that sentencing a person to life in prison is a death sentence, just with a number of years of confinement first. I merely pointed out that using the same logic, giving birth is sentencing a baby to death, just with a number of years of life first. It's a stupid argument. You cannot sentence someone to a natural death; it's something that will already happen to them...it's not part of the punishment.

A prisoner basically lives out a meaningless torturous existence until his death.

I doubt many prisoners would agree with you there. Prison isn't a very nice place, but it certainly isn't (nor should it be) torturous. The idea is that prison should be a punishment. You are kept locked up until you repay your debt to society, or die naturally (whichever comes first). That said, a prisoner should have (and often does have) multiple ways of making their life inside prison mean something, whether that be by working for special favours, helping other inmates, or focusing on rehabilitation so that they do not commit crimes if they get out.

A number of inmates on death row have even been rehabilitated, the most obvious example in recent memory was Stanley Williams, who wrote several anti-gang and anti-violence books after his conviction for a gang-related murder. He was unfortunately executed in 2005.

What is the possible moral high ground that you see to that, as opposed to the death penalty?

Let's clarify something. I don't support the death penalty, and I don't support keeping people in torturous conditions either. I don't see a moral high ground in either of those. What I do see a moral high ground in, is keeping people locked up away from society, whilst giving them a way for them to repay their debt to that society, through work and rehabilitation.

Also prisoners have way shorter life expectancies and large numbers die in unnatural causes. A huge number die of AIDS. Is that not a death penalty?

Likewise, I am against prison rape, and think that prisoners should be protected against it as much as possible. I support conjugal visits, lots of prison guards, and secure areas of the prison for those who fear for their lives.

Is that a preferable function of the state? If my logic is faulty, your own says that the people worked to death in a concentration camp weren't killed, they were just confined until their death.

The preferable function of the state would be to keep these people away from society, whilst not allowing them to come to harm themselves. I'd like to see you explain why my own logic says that people worked to death in a concentration camp weren't killed. It seems to me that the mere fact that they were "worked to death" means they were.

I'll state it again in case you were confused: There is a difference between confining someone until they die naturally, and confining someone with the intention of killing them by unnatural means. The former is preferable and moral under the circumstances. The latter is reprehensible.