[Melusine]

Timber is right - it's NOT a fable or an extreme rarity for someone innocent to be sentenced to death. Check Amnesty International's site. Or any other source if you prefer.

- sentencing a person to death is more expensive than putting them in jail for life (if you consider the cost of appeals)
- the death penalty is not a proven deterrent for criminal behaviour
- innocents DO get sentenced to death, mistakes ARE made
- I can understand the individual need for revenge that close relations of a victim will feel, but I don't condone a state that acts upon those feelings. A state should not be allowed to kill people

Those are my personal reasons for being against capital punishment - people can argue about this ad infinitum but I don't think I'll ever change my mind.

And just to add my tired old disclaimer that I've found is still necessary:
I don't *like* criminals, I don't want to freaking cuddle them and I'm not a wishy-washy-he-must-have-had-a-bad-childhood type. I'm all for serious punishment of serious crimes! In fact I feel that living in a cell for the rest of your life is a much worse punishment than death. People always underestimate life in prison but even with three decent meals a day and relative luxury (which I'm against, BTW - good meals and a TV are fine, but I think prisons should not be like hotels or holiday resorts in any way) it is an enormous punishment.