I voted never.
Civilized societies should not have state sponsored killing. For any reason.
While I admit, that from an emotional standpoint, there are cases where the more ancient, less than rational part of my brain may feel some sense of satisfaction by the thought of ending the life of a murderer, my higher brain is able to override it.
But even if I was in favor of capital punishment from a philosophical standpoint, I could never condone it from a practical standpoint. Way too many people have been released from prison when new evidence comes to light. Not to mention, that as good as the justice system is, it makes mistakes.
Civilized societies should not have state sponsored killing. For any reason.
While I admit, that from an emotional standpoint, there are cases where the more ancient, less than rational part of my brain may feel some sense of satisfaction by the thought of ending the life of a murderer, my higher brain is able to override it.
But even if I was in favor of capital punishment from a philosophical standpoint, I could never condone it from a practical standpoint. Way too many people have been released from prison when new evidence comes to light. Not to mention, that as good as the justice system is, it makes mistakes.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.