The trouble is that when you accept the use of the death penalty into your justice system , you now trap yourself into an endless debate on when it is or isn ' t justified . What are the limits to the intent and magnitude of crimes which should be punished with death ? How do we decide them ? What if a government finds it convenient to redefine those limits , to include , say , whistleblowers ? It ' s rather like the right to free speech . Many would argue we should restrict some forms of speech on the grounds that said speech holds society back and should be discouraged , and many others would counter that it would put the meaning of free speech , and hence the ability to punish those that don ' t fit the form , in the hands of the government . Why is the ability to execute a citizen any different ?