I'd like to express a controversial opinion. I am totally indifferent to the suffering of violent criminals. If you have consciously used violence against innocent people - if you have broken into an occupied home, if you have accosted people with weapons, committed sexual violence, or given drugs to children - then I would not object to your summary execution.
In my eyes, the lives of people who make such choices are worth less than those of loyal pets, or innocent farm animals. It is clear that greed and longing for status fuels crime in our society. Violent criminals are not responsible providers with families who have simply fallen on hard times. They are people who make choices. And in my eyes it is these choices which dehumanize them.
To be perfectly clear, I am not talking about thieves, destroyers of property, or people who sell drugs to adults. I'm only talking about people who use violence and violate consent.
There is more than one effective method for penal administration. I think we should be taking a closer look at Japan. Its penal system is notoriously harsh, with criminals who have served time in both the US and Japan unanimously agreeing that Japanese prison is a far more terrible experience. Japan is also a remarkably peaceful society, with a remarkably low recidivism rate. The mistake that US prison administration makes is that it allows prison criminal culture to develop and prosper. In Japan no such thing is permitted. People are required to maintain strict order, and are not permitted to socialize or speak freely. Beatings and solitary confinement are routine.
Conversely, prison records are sealed, and once prisoners have served their time they are free to find work and integrate into society. There are many groups of people who deserve our limited sympathy before violent criminals.