The dumbing down of society that gets its information from the evening news and the tabloids only hears about, and is only interested in gossip and crime, which fosters a belief that crime is far more pervasive than it actually is. Also, there is a denial by society that the sensibilities of minorities have to be accounted for. We have only experienced one brief, shining moment of conscience on this issue during our nation's history. Since the latest anti-death penalty argument is based upon logic, it is doomed to failure. The death penalty will be with us for a while.
Capital punishment is favored by the vast majority of all the world's citizens.
So let's count our blessings that our political system is connected enough to the people to assure that we keep it. The public and the Federal Supreme Court supported slavery. That did not mean, they were right. Sometimes easy cases make for bad ethics. The McVeigh case represents the worst possible argument against the death penalty.