And people wonder why we are skeptical of life without parole as an effective alternative to the death penalty. If life without parole really meant that, some might not oppose abolishing the death penalty but the sentence is a joke in many cases.
So, let's say you give up the death penalty.
Then, you catch a perp who won't talk. You bargain with him, bargaining away life-without-parole (since you can't bargain away the death penalty).
Then you go to trial and fight to get a stiff sentence, if you're lucky.
...all for what should have been a death penalty case.
And that's all before you get a lib governor who sets the murderer free.