I must say that your response to the comments received is excellent and I could not agree more. I am opposed to the death penalty in all situations, regardless of the level of pain experienced at the moment of execution. It should be added that the mental torment of sitting on death row is also inhumane, yet necessary in order to have even minimal "safeguards" to prevent execution of someone innocent of the crime for which they have been sentenced. See also The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective, by Roger Hood, for an excellent examination of the issues.