against the survival instinct of human nature--it literally guarantees a long and protracted legal battle that costs the economy far more than is justified by the end results.
Before proceeding further, it is necessary to make some objective definitions of the terms used and the context in which the death penalty is being discussed. The key phrase in the statement above is "the death penalty as it is employed in the United States."
The context of this discussion: the United States. The process of justice in the United States carries with it certain specific and defining characteristics, chief among them the presumption of innocence, a founding principle of American judicial philosophy. Within the guidelines of this philosophy, a person is assumed innocent of a crime when accused by the state; the accused can only be convicted after a trial conducted according to rules of due process; the state must supply evidence that can convince a jury of the accused's peers that the person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This presumption of innocence is markedly different from the foundations of jurisprudence in other societies. In France the Napoleonic Code established a judicial philosophy based upon the exact opposite: once accused by the state, a person is considered guilty until he or she can provide proof of innocence. In Japan, due process is notably absent the participation of a jury (Iritani A6). Saudi Arabian justice is based on Koran derived Shari'a customs devised over the centuries; due process and rules of evidence are not particular considerations--once accused, the trial and acquittal/punishment are usually accomplished within ten days.
The death penalty, too, is employed as a form of public polity differently according to locale. Arabian justice is draconian--a conviction for murder requires the death penalty--but can be commuted by the condemned's paying a victim's family a negotiable fee of "blood money...