mankind has not developed the ability to see into the future. I get why some people want to abolish capital punishment because they believe the state will make a mistake in the future. I also get why some people believe that isn't enough of a reason to justify abolishing capital punishment. Some believe there are times when the good of the whole outweighs the good of the individual.

My senior year at VT I interned with my hometown's police department and the US Marshals in Roanoke. Based on those experiences, I came to the conclusion that mankind will never have a perfect system to punish criminals while seeking "justice" for the victims. In part because we may not always know what level of "justice" the victim believes is appropriate for the crime(s) committed against him/her. It is why I am perfectly fine with leaving the decision on whether or not a state can use capital punishment in the hands of its people. I have no objections (and even encourage) the state to revisit the issue as often as its people want to make sure the beliefs of the major have not changed from the last time they took a vote on the issue.