I’m going to start with an admission; I oppose the death penalty. There are several reasons for this. First, I consider it barbaric. Second, I am uneasy with the idea of the state wielding such irreversible power (especially given that most states are less competent than we, and they, would like to believe). Third, the line separating those eligible for execution from those not eligible is forever elastic; its scope is always subject to expansion and reinterpretation. Finally, and this is less a philosophical objection than an experiential one, I have stood inside an execution chamber, at the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas. It is not a place I ever wish to see again. Despite these objections, I recognize that others regard capital punishment as not only permissible but necessary. For some, it offers security: a guarantee against those who commit extreme violence. For others, it represents a form of justice and retribution on behalf of victims and their families. Yet there is, I suspect, at least one point of convergence. Whatever one’s stance on …