I dissagree, the death penalty is the harsher punishment. No body with any sense believes that there are 70 virgins who deserve eternity with a terrorist anyway.
Life sentence is a merciful sentence, because it gives him many years to repent.
Give him a chance to find out - Richard Reid should have a chance to think about a lot of things while decending from 12,000' after being pushed out of a U.S. Air Force plane over Taliban country.
I have changed my opinion of which penalty is harsher, Life or death. I definitely think life imprisionment without chance of parole is much harder than the death penalty. Reid wasn't afraid to die. Also, it will take much longer for Reid to become a martyr to the Al-Qaeda's causes. By then, Reid and religious terrorism will be long forgotten like the judge said.