Catechism of the Catholic Church, 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.Pope John Paul II, "Evangelium Vitae". Execution is only appropriate "in cases of absolute necessity, in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today, however, as a result of steady improvement in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."
Given that the "organization", the wretched state of the US penal system could not possibly be considered as qualifying under "steady improvement", the death penalty in the US is conscionable in cases where it is not possible to otherwise defend society.
"Given that the "organization", the wretched state of the US penal system could not possibly be considered as qualifying under "steady improvement", the death penalty in the US is conscionable in cases where it is not possible to otherwise defend society."
Praise the Lord and pass the munitions.