Well.. they are. They can't go anywhere except where they are allowed to go in prison. They have lost their liberty in as much as they are only free to do what is allowed, when it is allowed.
You act as if these are the only things that make our lives what they are. As for education, why not? You propose that your methods would be applicable to any crime, with only the duration differing. So some 18 year old scrotebag assaults someone, and we bang him up in a concrete cell for 23.5 hours a day, then release him 6 months later, what's changed? What you are ignoring is WHY he assaulted someone in the first place? The fact that he may be a totally disenfranchised, desperate person with absolutely no hope or future, and sees absolutely no reason for complying with what we deem to be acceptable behaviour. What will change once he's released? He'll still feel the same. What about those that commit crimes because of drug addiction? You think they're not going to just repeat offend because you locked them in a concrete box for a while? They'll hate authority and society even more. They'll feel even more disconnected with it. Where's the incentive to become productive members of society?
What you seem to neglect in your arguments is that there are countries that DO employ the methods you seem to think will work, and they simply don't. If they were effective, people would only offend once, and then be "corrected" by such institutions. The reality is that they do re-offend, despite the harsh conditions.
I genuinely think people want prisoners to suffer to actually satisfy themselves, not because there's any real need to make them suffer. It sates their feelings of outrage that people can commit offences against them, their loved ones, and property. The reality is usually they will just re-offend if nothing is done to change the way they love their lives. Prison purely as as a punitive system can only ever really work if you never release them, which is not an option for lesser offences.
Only if the research relies on answered questions. Medical evidence can not be refuted. The answer to why some people do not have the ability to feel remorse for killing someone in cold blood, or getting satisfaction from it may well lie in their DNA or chemistry. Maybe.. for all we know, there's a protein that switches on in part of their genome that prevents production of mood modifying chemistry in their brains. That may be identifiable as a part of their DNA. That could be screened for routinely, and corrected through gene therapy. The only way we will ever know that, is if we study those that exhibit that behaviour... i.e, prisoners who have been convicted of that behaviour. The alternative is do nothing, lock them in a cell, and just wait for the next one to come along. That, means more people will get killed by that next one . At some point, we have to find an answer. Your solution does not offer one.
A prison sentence IS a punishment. They'll never be able to take a walk on a cold, crisp autumn morning. They'll never be able to lead a normal life; Eat a sandwich in a café, meet someone to love; watch their children grow; go for a drive; buy a house, car, or anything else. They'll never be able to go on holiday. They're captive in the same building, day in, day out. You think being able to watch TV some way alleviates all of that? All I can say is, TV must play a really important part of your life

I could quite happily live without TV. In fact, I probably watch about 1 hours worth of TV a week. Locking me up in prison with TV would make absolutely no bloody difference. It's my loss of liberty that I'd miss, not stupid facilities like TV or a gym.
I agree that the length of sentences is stupid sometimes. Let's get one thing straight... I'm no bleeding heart liberal. I just feel that being banged up IS punishment. You don't meter out MORE punishment while they're in there, as once they are released you've just created an even more disconnected, bitter, and disenfranchised person who will probably re-offend. Nothing has been fixed to make that person's circumstances conducive to wanting to be a better person.
Between 2007-2012 England and Wales (not inc Scotland or NI) had 5079 murders (Office of National Statistics) and the Penalty for murder in the UK is a comfy cell, PlayStation, Television, Library, Full medical care (which most OAPS don't get) and not to forget the First class food to their dietary needs and the new look muscular body from hours of down time in the gym.