The Romans thought the only solution was to kill the Christians. Everytime I think of death in terms of a state authorized killing it turns my stomach. It sounds like the final chapter of a horror story or a tale of Nazi atrocity. Our latest technological refinement in execution people is to poison them with an overdose of drugs. The idea is to be humane.
Some people call giving the death penalty a noble thing.
But lets recognize it for essentially what it is - revenge. Retribution in the form of revenge is what we are talking about here. Capital punishment is vengeance. We don't rape a rapist. We don't burn arsonists.