Why do some people have issues with capital punishment/death penalty? It's authorized in 28 states; It's authorized under our federal laws; and it's constitutional under the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I support it. Yes, there are some nuances involved in the death penalty jurisprudence, and I know all the landmark cases, as I studied the 8th Amendment/capital punishment under a liberal law professor. I was very controversial in that class. Generally speaking, I do not oppose the death penalty; however, when we start talking about mitigating (in some cases, aggravating) factors, some homicide cases won't be eligible for the death penalty. When we have a clear case of first-degree murder/certain common law homicides, then those intentional/premeditated homicides should be eligible for the death penalty. It's a very complex area of jurisprudence. A typical death penalty case can take close to 20 years to litigate, as an accused person must exhaust all his/her constitutional remedies, including a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, so don't think that people are executed without a fair trial.
