[MajesticHobo]

A couple points:

> the practice of allowing brutal murderers and rapists to live out their lives and die in peace

Unless I'm misreading you, that's a huge misrepresentation of what death penalty abolitionists advocate. I don't want violent criminals to have zero repercussions for their actions, and no present-day society I've ever heard of allows them to.

But I agree with (what I perceive to be your greater) point about differences in personal moral code. I was merely speaking contextually about the general trend Western society has followed for the past few centuries -- like fewer, more lenient punishments and more respect for civil rights, among others.

[Houstonymous]

Maybe I wasn't talking about Western / liberal society. Maybe most people don't currently live in that.