First of all, Thorne, I don't agree with your suggestion that cold-blooded killers should be treated in the same way as vicious dogs: they have rights which must be respected, notwithstanding their disregard for other people's rights. Executing them demeans not only them, but us as well, and it accomplishes nothing. I acknowledge that killing them removes them from society and prevents them killing again, but there are other, more humane, ways of doing that.

With regard to the point you make about surviving relatives, their loss is sad and the consequences are regrettable. But I don't believe any of the people in the situations you describe would feel adequately compensated by the death of the murderer, and, frankly, if that was all it took to put matters right for them, one must question how seriously affected by the death they truly were .