While Mosaic law from the Old Testament specifies death for murderers, it also lists 36 other capital offenses, many of which in our society are now misdemeanors. Though some still quote the Old Testament passages in support of capital punishment, no one seriously argues for executing livestock thieves or adulterers, she said. You can be selective when you quote the Bible. Living under a death sentence for 10 or 15 years is agonizing, she said. The reason you can't take torture out of the death penalty is that you can't take consciousness out of human beings.
Human beings imagine death, anticipate death and die a thousand deaths before their time has come.