People frequently debate the ethics of capital punishment, though I never see anyone debate the ethics of lifelong imprisonment. That really baffles me.
While it may come as a surprise to many people, there are some countries that have not only abolished capital punishment, but have also abolished lifelong imprisonment as well. Below are some examples with the "harshest" penalty imposable in parenthesis:
Norway (21 years), Ecuador (25 years), Portugal (25 years), Uruguay (30 years), Honduras (40 years), Dominican Republic (30 years), Brazil (30 years).
Some cases to put these examples into context:
-Anders Breivik was convicted of 77 murders and is currently serving a 21 year sentence in Norway.
-Pedro Alonso Lopez was convicted of 57 murders (though he confessed to more than 300) and served 16 years in Ecuador (instead of the 25) for "good" behavior.
-Daniel Barbosa was convicted of 150 murders in Ecuador; however, he was killed in prison (by the cousin of one of his victims) before serving his sentence.
-Pedro Rodrigues Filho was convicted of 71 murders (though he confessed to more than 100) and is currently serving a 30 year sentence in Brazil.