I believe that a life sentence is a harsher punishment than execution. Executions are just very, very late term abortions, and should be reserved for extraordinary cases. To be clear, I'm pro-execution, but I'd only want it to be a federal sentence, by a high court. I wouldn't want a murderer or a child molester executed, but I would say blowing up a building is a pretty good reason to execute someone - not as a punishment, but as a way to eliminate the threat.
I agree that prisoners do have it easier than they should, but I'm not for bread and water and 140 degree cells; that's cruel, and contradictory to a system based on reform. In the case of non-life first-time offenders, prisoners should be given the opportunity to get some fundamental education where applicable, to hopefully become people who are beneficial to society. Sometimes that is a pipe dream, so that's why I say first-timers only. In certain low-security prisons, there are programs like that, but it's pretty rare because of the expense.