Sadly, prions are terrifying, so eating the rich is not a practical possibility.

Now, feeding them alive to the big cats at the zoo, on the other hand, would serve the same purpose, and entertain the kitties to boot, which the brain control parasites my kittens have infected me with tell me is a good thing, and since we don't eat them or anything that eats them there's no risk of prion spread, at least until deer chronic wasting disease inevitably spreads to humans and kills us all.

You're not wrong, but at least there's a chance that they'll be released, and with therapy they might even have a normal life again some day. If you kill someone, they're dead. Nothing you can do about it beyond maybe putting an "Oops, our bad, sorry about that" plaque on their headstone.

I will also say that prisons should not be cruel. The role of prisons should be rehabilitation, protection of society from those who can't be rehabilitated, and lastly (and for once actually least importantly) punishment.

i mean... abolish prisons too? Yes... I think yess :)