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The author rejects the opposition to the death penalty on the basis of the fact that the U.S. is the only democracy to impose it through a rationale with which I disagree although I accept the conclusion. In that regard, the point that the U.S. has a greater crime problem than other nations would, if it were sufficiently bad, also justify torture by the author's criteria. To my mind, the relevant issue is that many countries impose much more barbaric sanctions, such as cutting off limbs, stoning, and other brutal forms of cruel capital punishment. I would regard humane capital punishment as morally preferable, particularly in conjunction with the U.S. constitutional protections.

I would strongly disagree with the author's position that the death penalty is no longer (especially in 1985) routinely imposed in error, as well as with the author's position that the death penalty is no longer imposed in a discriminatory manner. Specifically, since this essay was written, the field of DNA science has demonstrated time and again that there is a definite risk of wrongful imposition and that is, perhaps, the strongest of all possible objections, especially given the profound importance of the presumption of innocence in this country. Similarly, while overt racial and social discrimination are no longer tolerated within the criminal justice system, the author ignores the fact that poor and minority individuals are more likely to find themselves in circumstances where they may become involved in crime and that once in the system, they are less likely to be represented by high-quality defense counsel. In that sense, the criminal justice system is still discriminatory in its effects if not in its design or intent.

I would agree with the author that capital punishment does not necessarily cheapen human life provided it is imposed and implemented ethically in relation to the other issues, and that that biblical prohibitions are irrelevant by virtue of the concept of separation of church and state as well as by virtue of the author's correct distinction between "murder" and "killing" in the Bible. Finally, I would agree with the author that the death penalty is not "state-sanctioned" murder except perhaps where it is imposed in a discriminatory manner or on innocent individuals.