I know when I hear about some scumbag on the news who kills a child, my first reaction is "kill that son of a bitch". If someone hurts a member of my family I'd probably consider doing the job myself. It's a gut reaction, the desire for swift and final justice. I also think it's totally understandable.
However, I'm uneasy with state-sanctioned murder, which is what capital punishment is. It really is, whether you view it that way or not. Everyone plays a role, from the lawyers, to the jury, the judge, and the hangman/executioner. If your government sanctions executions then the difference between your nation and a state like Saddam's Iraq is only a question of degrees, rather than a fundamental difference in philosophy. We're all in that big group of nations that execute, the only difference is what we do it for.
Do any of the folks who are pro-execution have any issue with the inherent racism in the legal system, and how it reflects on the death row demographics? I'm too lazy to look up the numbers now, and I'm not sure there are any accurate figures available, but I'm sure there's a higher percentage of non-white murderers on death row nationwide than the percentage of non-white convicted murderers. I'd venture a guess that it's significantly higher, something like non-whites comprising 20% of murder convictions, but >50% of the death row population. If I can find it I'll post it (in its own thread - sorry for the little hijack).