If God sent your child to Hell.

[Anima]

Unless your version of hell just means "not existing anymore" you're continuing a false equivocation. Yes, death is a terminal punishment. But the person doesn't suffer forever after they are given the death penalty.

Let me ask you then: would you rather cease to exist or be tortured forever? Do you have a preference?

There is another point to prison as well, which is to try and give the person time to rehabilitate. Obviously this is not always possible, but with shorter sentences the person gets "time out" and can come back stronger, should they wish to do so. Not so when you're just endlessly punishing someone without ever having the chance of redemption.

[Edited, I was being overly arrogant and pompous!]

You are going to love this line. To quote the movie The Prophecy:

"Hell is not necessarily lakes of boiling oil or chains of ice. Hell is to be removed from god's sight. To have his word taken from you."

(An atheist paradise if ever there was one!! )

In truth I cannot tell you whether hell does or does not equate to nonexistence since we do not know. However, I would not agree with the idea that a person does not suffer forever upon death under Atheistic thought. (As realist I must state that one may suffer objectively even if they are not suffering subjectively.)

In answer to your question I would rather be tortured forever than not exist. But, alas I am not so inclined to opt for nonexistence because continued existence will not be pleasing to me.

I believe I stated earlier that it is likely prison serves a primary retributivist function rather than a rehabilitative function. As we might effectuate the former by the imposition of displeasure (even suffering), but may not so effect the latter by any means not permitted by the prisoner. Since it is not our goal to make our society subject to our prisoners it thus follows that our primary intention of imprisonment is not rehabilitation, but rather retribution (where we are okay if that retribution results in rehabilitation).