I'm against the death penalty, honestly.

Finally something I can agree with you on, even if for different reasons. Took a bit.

My argument against it is that "we" (ie society) say killing another human being is wrong. Even so that if you kill a human by accident then "we" expect that person to be punished for manslaughter.

Therefore for us to maintain the higher moral ground we can't then say "we" condone killing of any human being whatever the circumstances. To me once you do that you lose the moral argument. That's my simple philosophy on it.

My issues with the death penalty are the innocent people who have been executed (look up the Cameron Todd Willingham case) and the obvious racial disparity in how it's applied. If the standard was raised from "guilty beyond reasonable doubt" to "guilty beyond any doubt whatsoever," I'd be OK with it for certain crimes.

I have mixed feelings on the death penalty. Mainly surrounding the question of whether it is more humane to keep someone incarcerated for the rest of their life if they pose such a danger as to warrant permanent separation from society. At that point, I think it might be best to ask the person which sentence they prefer. I personally would probably choose death over life in prison without parole. But I would not want to make that decision for someone else.

I like your focus on reformation and rehabilitation though. Not everyone can be reformed, but I think most stand a chance. Unfortunately, the US Justice system is Punitive rather Rehabilitative. Worse, we've started added profit motive through the use of private prisons (I could give a whole separate tirade about the damage of private prisons).

Stats tend to show that nations that focus on Rehabilitation and Re-Integration with society have much lower incidence of repeat offense when compared to the Punitive system we use. In fact, all of the negative fallout that comes with having a record makes it more difficult to live even after having served your time, which tends to drive people back into crime.

So I am with you in the sense of being against the Death Penalty as a mandated sentence. But I believe people who are Life Without Parole could be given a choice.

I don't think it brings any closure to the victim's families. It does not even act as a deterrent.