Changing idendity requires forfeiting most of your property that you can't carry with you, all your academic and professional certifications and achievements, and your entire social network. It's unclear to me that this would be better than spending 25 years in prison.

LOL. So tell me, what does your "entire social network" look like after 25 years in prison? What's the worth of "all your academic and professional certifications and achievements"? How much property do you think you'll have?