Prosecutors may recreate the earlier emotional climate at the trial in appealing for the death sentence. In the heat of these emotions, few seem to realize that a death sentence and the resulting appeal can simply divert the healing process for the victim's survivors. Media attention may often be directed to the murderer, and to the legal aspects of the case, leaving the victim's family feeling betrayed and neglected. Because efforts to prevent an execution may continue to the last minute, prosecutors may be tempted to promote a vengeful state of mind in family members. Many families of murder victims find too late that a vindictive attitude has only multiplied their wounds, and that the execution gave them nothing.
Many religions say no.
Anger, vengeance, and retribution are not the best foundations of a moral culture, yet they seem to be driving forces behind the death penalty. Quakers, together with Catholics, Jews, Episcopalians, Congregationalists, Methodists, and Buddhists, among others, have taken strong stands against capital punishment, because it has a brutalizing effect on society as a whole. Rather than duplicating the act that society condemns, they urge that the government choose life as a way of setting an example for its citizens. They reject the idea that society honors the victim by killing the offender. Proof is lacking.