Good. The State should not be in the business of executing even for those that “deserve” it. That’s not the argument. it is twofold:
1. The State should never have this much power over it’s citizens. period.
2. We know with 100% surety that the innocent have been executed and that many innocents were put on death row and later cleared. The possibility of executing 1 innocent only justifies the execution of another in Islam. We are NOT Islam.
We do NOT know that any innocents have been executed. Numerous convictions have been overturned, many for purely technical reasons. But I don't know of a single case where an innocent man was PROVEN innocent after he was executed.
The State wields far vaster power than that of capital punishment. At least in that case, an intricate due process is invoked -- usually repeatedly.
The option of capital punishment -- the death penalty -- is essential if true justice is to be served.