Why add the risk of a malfunction in the legal system that might put me to death when it is supposed to protect me? A life sentence in a no-frills work camp prison is deterrence enough for me.
Why? Because the death penatly is a deterrant, much as the left likes to say it isn't. Executing criminals saves innocent lives and the statistices are quite astounding. I'm in favor of a stong appeals systems, and after conviction reviews of evidence just to be sure. But, I disagree with the concept that the "state" taking an innocent life is so bad that we let a 1,000 crimnals kill without fear lf losing their own life. The state refusing to do what is reasonably within its power to reduce murder, is also "taking inccocent lives".