@windbourne
1) You missed the point.  Victims family members should be allowed to believe that the attacker should have gotten the death penalty.  Hottubjoe claims "no one should ever wish death on another." He might have a different opinion if he had a family member in the shooting.  My point is Joe shouldn't decide this for the family or for anyone else for that matter.
 
2) Assuming the Manson family wished they had receive death penalty... A sample size of 4 (or however many there are) out of a population of all death row inmates proves nothing.