I hear what your saying..... but the death penalty is reserved for those extreme crimes. I agree with you on crimes like possession of pot a few other drugs. Stealing, battery, abuse is another story. Can't be trusted.

Executing a really bad person for doing something really horrific is ok with me. At least its not per se wrong in my book. But here's the rub... you got to be damn sure. And that's a serious problem in most cases. Innocent people are being framed for convenience and expedience (sometimes by accident) and wrongfully executed all the time. That IS always a problem. As a practical matter, therefore, its probably the best public policy to not do it at all.

Our Innocence project has been uncovering case after case of police lying and prosecutors behaving unethically just to get the numbers up. People are being cleared as matters of actual fact by DNA. This is a national shame and an embarrassment. IMHO, of course.