In thinking about the topic and all the responses here the classic Gary Cooper quote from High Noon (1952) sprung to mind:
QuoteI sent a man up five years ago for murder. He was supposed to hang. But up North, they commuted it to life and now he's free. I don't know how. Anyway, it looks like he's coming back.
I think that finality is part of the appeal of the death penalty. Once their dead, their dead; and will never be able to harm anyone again. After all, as long as a murderer is alive there's always the chance that some well-intentioned idiot will turn loose a killer to kill again. Like someone else said earlier, how many people has Ted Bundy killed lately?
And I completely agree that enforcing the death penalty ONLY in the case of a police officer being killed is selective enforcement, at best. After all, aren't we all equal under the law, therefore shouldn't every life have an equal value?
