Yes, Bryn: but that applies, not only to capital punishment, but to the entire concept of punishment in general and thruout — ALL punishment consists of replying to one wrong with another: doing wrong to the offender by imposing on him an experience he would prefer to evade; otherwise it wouldn't BE a punishment. It is a self-evidently terrible idea. Unfortunately nobody has yet come up with a better one.

In my teaching days I would say to a new class I was meeting for the first time, "I intend there to be no punishments in my lessons" — at which they would smirk self-satisfiedly. After a pause I would add, "So - you begin."