I agree that the death penalty is not to be taken lightly, but that is different from arguing that it should not be used at all.  There are lots of examples of crime bosses, murderers, and drug kingpins escaping from prison, but no instances of them returning from the dead.  Lives may be lost from inaction as well as action, and the philosophy that &quot;we must be 100% certain to do anything in life&quot; is a self-serving and disingenuous argument, which could be applied equally well against any punishment the state might choose to apply.