I have been considering this issue lately. Even though I generally oppose the death penalty, I have come to believe that the only people who should be eligible are those who have overseen mass murder.

That means heads of state who start wars or murder their own people or passively allow their followers "to do it on their own." These people are condoning major offenses.

Killing some slob who believes that he will go to heaven as part of a jihad is not punishment. It is giving him [and they are mostly male] what he wants. If we cannot reasonably turn him off, how can we kill other individuals at this level? On the other hand, killing the megalomaniacal monster who sent him or them is entirely another story, whether or not there is direct blood on his hands.