I am against the death penalty for quite a few reasons, but here are the most important ones....
1) If even one innocent person is executed, then the state itself has committed murder.
This actually happened in Texas recently.
2) The cost of executing a criminal is 4 times the cost of imprisoning him for life, without the chance for parole. And that cost runs into the many millions for each person executed. We can better put that money elsewhere.
3) Executing a criminal makes us less civilized, and puts us in fine company with the likes of Iran, Egypt, and North Korea. Civilized nations no longer execute convicted criminals. Barbarians do.
4) Barbarians also torture people to death, which is exactly what happened here.
However, I am not shedding any tears for the asshole in Oklahoma, whose execution was botched. He shot a young woman, then had his cronies bury her while she was still alive. The other criminal, who was scheduled to be executed right after him, and whose execution was put on hold, raped and murdered an eleven month old baby. I will never share a tear for them, but the process is flawed. We need to recognize that, and ban the death penalty, once and for all. It is a relic of barbarism.
For those who don't agree with me, then I have a suggestion.
Let's make executions public again. Lynch 'em right in the town square, and sell hot dogs, beer, and cotton candy to all those who come to see the show. That's what we used to do. It was a real three ring circus back then. Come to think of it, it's still a three ring circus today.