Leland,

We don't have capital punishment here, though it is still possible in the case of murder of a police officer on duty I *think*.
And it's a good thing we don't because at least 5 people previously convicted were later found (at least 1 20+ years after trial) to be innocent.

But this is a highly emotional issue for people related to victims. I well remember a comment by a victim's relative after the Governor of Illinois commuted many death sentences and pardoned a few people. The pardons were clearly because there was (in the Governor's opinion) clear evidence now that the pardonees had been innocent. Yet the family member of a victim said (of a pardoned individual), quit angrily, along the lines of 'well if the system had dispatched him quickly as it should we wouldn't be going through this crap today'.

Personally I wouldn't mind the death penalty for criminals who are unequivocally (by both confession and positive non-circumstantial PROOF) (found) guilty and all aspects of the trial had been reviewed in detail for correctness in every aspect.

Jim
>In the US there were 77 executions. So far as the Americas were concerned, I didn't see where many other countries had any executions. I had previously thought that capital punishment was pretty universal. I wish the US would abolish Capital Punishment.
>
>Regards,
>
>LelandJ