The death penalty debate was so important and incredibly bungled.

It was bungled because it was often framed in the “Does anyone deserve to die?”. I’ve seen enough misery to know that the question has no clear answer.

How the answer should have been framed, and one that plagues far beyond the courts is: Does the state have the grounds to kill any of its citizens?” For moral, legal, and practical reasons, that answer is clearly NO.

The question of whether individuals have grounds to kill each other is a totally separate debate. Those individuals should not be able to hide behind the state.