You know, I missed that perspective somehow. I have been sort of undecided about death penalty. I think some folks really, really need it. Like a local serial killer who murdered at least 8 women. Why should that mofo live? Or that wacko in CA who killed his entire family, after having incestuously fathered many of the children. A man like that should not breath my air. Or Bin Laden.

OTOH, there are murderers and there are murderers. And there are mistakes--miscarriages of justice. Why risk executing innocent people? It's bad enough if they serve life in prison when innocent, at least there's some chance that justice will finally be done. But if they're executed...sorry 'bout that, y'all.

The plea-bargain thing is another point. What with cops having the right to lie to suspects anyway, just give them a bit more leverage by threatening them with death.

I don't know. I want Bin Laden to die. It would be nice if death came to him while sealed in a black cave by Hellfire missle, alone in the dark. But it would also be pretty cool to have a Hollywood-style show trial in which everything he finds contemptible about western society, like maybe a really pretty and real smart Jewish defense attorney, was the last thing he saw as the needle slipped into his arm. OTOH, dying of old age in a max security prison might be kind of nice, too.