My belief against the death sentence in on record in several threads so I will refrain from saying more on that here.

Keeping with the OP though...

Did they not used to burn 'heretics' in the belief they were purifying them and saving their souls? Some of the forms of captial punishment in the past has made out to be about purification rather than retribution. I think we know the truth far better.

In my opinion they are purifying their own minds with a form of sanitisation that changes the truth to something more palatable so that they do not have to feel guilt. I hope that I would never have to be a juror on a capital case. It is doubtful in the UK unless the government come up wih plans to reduce prison populations! I do wonder if in the future some form of euthanasia will be sanctified in order to reduce the 'burden' on society of various 'less popular' groups of citzens. The elderly, the disabled, the infirm. They already started on them financially.

At any given time in history death has been used as a tool of the state. It is the ultimate tax!

mp