I honestly am very surprised more guys with life sentences don't flip.

I'm thinking in some cases it's because the feds don't give them the option. The bigger you are, the bigger chip you'd have to play. You may know everything in the world but if they can't turn it into convictions, you're probably screwed.

Other people certainly do accept their fate and don't try to flip. Maybe it's fear that their families would be harmed. As docile as the Outfit in Chicago is recently, hell, it's still the mob. If inmate A threatens to take down a bunch of big guys, it certainly wouldn't be beyond them to pull out all the stops... if they could.

Other times, maybe they have such a mountain of crimes under their belt that it's hopeless. Say you're in for two murders but you know if you flip it's going to come out that you actually committed 30, plus you have 20 million in offshore accounts. You're going to have to be able to put away a TON of people for the feds to grant you complete immunity on that.

Other times, some people really have probably bought into the whole 'omerta' thing.

Just thinking out loud because I just think in most instances, everything else being equal, it would be human nature to do almost anything to avoid spending the rest of your life in jail.