Personal view: no - and with no exceptions, no matter how grave the crime. That's not to say that I don't think there are some people who may deserve such an end - it would be ridiculous for me to try to claim that I shed tears when Saddam Hussein was hanged - but even in those cases, I don't think it's right that the state actually do it.
Of course this is a non-question for the UK as long as we're members of the EU (or even the Council of Europe), and I can't see Britain ever bringing it back unless we end up in a full-scale war of survival. But it's a matter of principle for me, and one of my strongest: I do believe that the right to life is not one that the state has the right to take away in cold blood - ever. Yes, it costs more to keep someone incarcerated for 50 years than to execute them, but that's irrelevant to me.
no subject
Of course this is a non-question for the UK as long as we're members of the EU (or even the Council of Europe), and I can't see Britain ever bringing it back unless we end up in a full-scale war of survival. But it's a matter of principle for me, and one of my strongest: I do believe that the right to life is not one that the state has the right to take away in cold blood - ever. Yes, it costs more to keep someone incarcerated for 50 years than to execute them, but that's irrelevant to me.