But punishment for just convictions is another matter. The death penalty serves several important and interrelated functions, the main goal of which is to uphold the value of human life and to promote social stability. By executing a murderer, society protects innocent human life and punishes its wanton disregard. Though there will always be murders, threat of execution serves to deter many more. And the execution certainly deters any future harm by the person executed.
Execution also brings justice for victims' families.
Though the state has now taken over the function, the need for just closure for a victim's family nevertheless remains. The victims' families' reactions to the recent Thurston County death penalty trial show they still struggle after 18 years with the injustice of murder. The system let them down. Their murdered relatives were just not important enough. Execution also protects the social order.