Controversy of Socrates

We learned about the controversy of Socrates' teachings. He encouraged the youth to be free thinkers. He was charged with two crimes:
1. Corruption of youth
2. Disrespecting the city state and gods
His students most likely spoke in favor of him he was found guilty in the eyes of the jury. In Ancient Greece, disrespecting the gods was a very big deal. He was forced to drink hemlock poison and die a slow, agonizing death. His muscles would go rigid and he would be in a lot of pain. His students gave him a chance to escape but he respected the jury's decision. I think he didn't leave when he had the chance because he wouldn't have enjoyed a life in hiding. One of his famous saying was, "An unexamined life is not worth living." How could he examine life and discover new things when no one could know he was alive? Also, having your own thoughts shouldn't be a crime. The Greeks had a great democracy with developed ideas, but this is a step backwards. Of course, this is still the time when women weren't citizens so they obviously weren't extremely developed. Hearing the story of Socrates made me more grateful to live in this century.