I have so many different opinions about the death penalty and criminal justice in general, I end up arguing with myself!

There flatly IS no easy answer, as harsh penalty systems get abused sometimes convict the innocent, and weak ones keep the prisons filled with an array of the worst of society and cost way too much for what they achieve.

I think I'd like a system where hard-core anti-social misfits are simply weeded out, as we identify them, like bad apples in a barrel, 'without prejudice', leaving the streets safer for those who at least TRY to be decent citizens.....but I have no idea in hell how to administer such a system fairly.

The universe in general has no 'reverence' for life, we humans (some of us) created it a practical concept to codify behavior and avoid the worst of the chaos that ensues when no rules are enforced.

I think that gratuitous killing is a bad idea, and would NOT like Clinton's semi-tongue-in-cheek call for televised executions, as it would numb us until we were too jaded to care(getting close already).....but there ARE people who are simply beyond salvage. If I were in charge of that aspect of it all, I think that executions would happen quietly, simply, behind closed doors, and with NO announcements to the press...just a call to relatives that the departed was available for burial, if they wished.

..and yes, I would worry constantly about the occasional conviction of an innocent person....so maybe I'm not the right man for the job, hmmm?
See? NO good answers.....