We are our own worst enemy. Being a complete p^ssy is fashionable now.
It's an overreaction. In Middle Ages a lord and his soldiers could ride into a village, rape and pillage just for fun, and leave tens of dead bodies behind. Examples of such terror are widely known from historical records, and they occurred anywhere from Japan to Europe to Mexico. Life was not just cheap; it was free for taking from the lower classes. Similarly, your own life belonged to your lord; it could be (and sometimes was) taken away from you just because your lord wanted it so, for a reason or without one.
This was, of course, wrong. But the world overreacted, as it always does. Now the life of anyone, be it a genius scientist or an honest worker or a petty criminal or a mass murderer, is equally precious and must not be taken away, ever. As result we have now hordes of criminals running free in the streets of our cities and in deserts of faraway countries. They do their best to kill our citizens but citizens must not kill back (ask GZ about that.) They steal, rob and mug people, and we are supposed to take it and politely ask for more.
IMO, the value of life is not unconditionally high. People are born with a pretty high value of their life; then it depends on their own actions. If you do good and help others you become a valuable citizen; your demise will be a great sorrow. If you are bad and you rob or kill people, the value of your life drops - mathematically, if you wish, by the value that the other person lost. If that value ever reaches zero you forfeited your life at that point. If you are allowed to live longer you are likely to cause more harm to the society then you will do good. Miraculous conversions do happen, but they are not in purview of humans.
It would be interesting to think how such a mathematical system would work out in the society. Some states have three strikes laws which come closer to this principle, but they are too crude. "Life credits" can be also earned, so an accidental crime can be eventually compensated in the eyes of the society. But if you let your life credits run out the next arrest will be fatal. Most repeat offenders will exhaust their credit while still in high school, just like TM did.