[innerSpaceman]

I don't care if you catch the guy in the act and thus can be sure that he murdered someone. Murdering him in return is not right. Taking a human life is God's province alone. No war, no self-defense, no retailiation makes it right. It may be necessary to do so (in the instance of self-defense, for example), but necessity doesn't make it right.

So, my personal stance is not based on innocent people being executed (though they are), or whether the death penalty is a deterrent (it's not), or whether victims' families feel no closure (they generally don't), or whether it's more expensive to execute someone than to support them for life in prison (it is), or whether the death penalty is unfairly applied to poor people and people of color (it is). It's based on the fact that, according to my personal moral values, it's absolutely, positively morally wrong.