'm going to go with what God would want.
Ha! So you are saying that you are god, do to the fact that you are only stating what you believe? It seems to be a common phenomena in politics.
I say no to the death penalty.
So your god, who genocides people many times over in the Bible, would be against the death penalty?
Killing a killer doesn't justify anything, doesn't rectify anything, doesn't make anyone any better off
And the main alternative, throwing them in a cell for the rest of their days, does some help? If anything, it possibly makes them a worse killer.
It's just that human nature to want to get back at someone who causes you harm.
Yes it is. So? Human nature can be a good thing.
And then, as you said, time and money goes into it. How would you feel if you went to the grocery store, and at the checkout the clerk said, "Thanks! That 1% extra tax you paid will help kill someone tomorrow!"
Time and money also goes into a prison sentence, where the death sentence would apply would instead be life in prison. If we could find a cheaper alternative, such as hanging, it would take little time and money. And personally, I would be rather surprised to the fact that Montana doesn't have a sales tax.
So how would you feel if they said "Thanks. That extra 2% tax will go into throwing a murderer into a horrible cell where he will likely be *****, beaten, and generally tortured for the rest of his life!"? Or in that case, what alternative do you suggest?
And how would you feel if you spent hours late at night filing paperwork to end someone's life?
Honestly, if I was certain that this guy was a murderer I would feel pretty good. Now how would you feel filing paperwork to throw someone in the previously mentioned cell for the rest of their lives?
I realize that I'm leaving out the other side, and I want to make sure you know that I'm not blind to it. However, this is a debate, and I'm supporting that point.
So you believe that your omnipotent sky daddy is on one side, but you are willing to change your mind? So you must not really believe that, as I mentioned it is just a "Well Yahweh must be on my side" kind of thing.
Now on my stance, I don't really care. If you are deciding between giving some guy life in prison or death, it really depends on the crime and the mental state of the person now doesn't it? Honestly, I can see alternatives used, such as a work camp where we can make a prophet off of them or a "rehabilitation center" if you honestly think a serial baby rapist or whatever can be reformed, until I see the data on this I am unable to decide.
It would be nice if someone could give me some numbers to work off of. If I could somehow test it's value as a "deterrent", one of the larger arguments for it, test the cost of a cheaper method, take a general idea of the population (Do to the fact that the government works for the people) etc etc in order to make an informed decision. Until then I can't really state the best idea, now can I?