This was a Russian short story entitled The Bet. It was about which is a better punishment, death penalty or solitary confinement.
The lawyer was against the death penalty and favored life imprisonment. The banker thought the other way around. To settle it they both bet for 2 million rubles if the lawyer would stand confinement for 15 years. If not, the banker wins the bet.
Based on the story the answer is false because he bet on one of the options.
