Kendhni wrote:
I used to be very pro death sentence but now I would be against it ... an awful waste of perfectly harvestable body parts ... and there is not even a need to pay for anesthetics.

Sorry, Ken, not sure what you are saying here. If the death penalty is meted out to those who banged to rights, there is an immediate harvest of all appropriate organs.
Kendhni wrote: ... I always thought that prisons should be 100% self sufficient and if they want their luxuries in life then they should earn them ... not only would that free up a lot of money but it could also supply a steady stream of free labour to provide additional help looking after the elderly in homes .. thereby freeing up the nursing staff to do more 'nursing'.
I agree - I've always felt that, where appropriate, those who can continue their day job should be able to do so and spend their non-working hours in prison, their salaries/wages going to cover the cost of incarceration and help maintain any home and family they have. Alternatively, other work should be provided, to be self-financing and, possibly, even as rehabilitation training. For example, I understand that confiscated cars are destroyed. That strikes me as a waste. Why not have workshops in prisons to either refurbish them for sale, or strip them down for saleable parts - income generating and possibly training future car mechanics. On a similar note, I understand there is a prison somewhere in the UK that has a restaurant, which employs the inmates and trains them for the catering industry.
But certainly, as you say, luxuries (access to TV etc) must be earned.
At the end of the day, prison should be a punishment and a place to be avoided. If you don't want to do the time, don't do the crime!