It's a miserable existence, that no one would want or desire. Only the most rabid politic would call it coddling.
While I agree with your statement, you have to ask: given the choice between life in prison and death, how many murderers would choose death? My guess is that damned few would. And none of them gave their victims such a choice, did they?
"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything." - Friedrich Nietzsche