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The Catholic view on the death penalty has been a bit over-simplified on this thread--more consistent with what tends to be presented by a substantial portion of the U.S. Bishops than what Rome actually puts forth.

The Universal Catechism, in its definitive revised edition, has this to say (parg. 2267)
"Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.
Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm--without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself--the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are 'very rare, if not practically non-existent'[citation of Papal document".

While the Church offers guidelines regarding the application of capital punishment, the punishment is not forbidden. Viewed from the grand scheme of human history, executions in the U.S. presently are "very rare, if practically non-existent." Compare our rate of execution to that of China, or Saudi Arabia--and remember this document is aimed world-wide.

My point is what "Catholics" believe as citizens. Catholics on most issues in the public square have beliefs per the pollls which are largely indistinguishable from Americans in general. The Catholic label in short has very little predictive value as to beliefs on public policy issues. Many Catholics are ready to defy the Catholic hierarchy at the drop of a hat, and which ones do, varies by issue. In my view, Catholics act from individual conscience, based on their own experience, which is so much larger than what they get from their faith, just like most Americans.

I noticed that in a recent critique of the death penalty by the US bishops, four bishops voted against it! I'd love to know who they were. The younger priests being ordained today tend to be more conservative than the older priests.