The whole lot of the anti-capital punishment crowd annoys me for so many reasons. I'll narrow it to just two for now. Firstly, it is not called capital deterrent; it is called capital punishment. Frankly, I couldn't care less whether it DOES deter anyone else. Any deterrent effect is secondary to the prime reason for performing the execution and goes down in my book as a "freebie". Secondly, it seems so odd that the liberal left can, with a straight face, espouse both abortion AND anti-capital punishment causes. So, to them, it makes sense that someone who has never had the chance (or ability) to choose a life can be murdered at whim, but we should save the ones who choose evil as a way of life? You can't reason with that kind of willful, blithe ignorance.
Your right it is a penalty. Every so often you hear some anti-capital punishment person say life in prison is far worse than being put to death. Well if that is so why don't prosecutors offer the death penalty to criminals? After all it is better than life in prison. And why do people on death row go through endless appeals when they are guilty as hell?