I certainly wouldn't execute Salman Rushdie or Nigerian adulteresses but there are some who I would be willing to dispatch.
We had a case locally of two people, a man and a woman, who sytematically kidnapped young girls and tortured and sexually abused them. When the thrill wore off they'd kill them, dump the body, and kidnap a fresh one.
There was no doubt of their guilt. Them I would terminate with no remorse.
We have a society that sends young men and women off to kill each other as part of the international dispute settling mechanism, yet will support and look after the people above for something like 40 years. We are also legally comfortable with abortion - which some see as the murder of innocent life.
Clearly all these things require careful thought, and the existence of one doesn't excuse or justify the other, but we do seem to have some odd priorities. There are no easy answers in any of those instances. In general I'm all for the preservation of life wherever possible. But there are cases where I'd make an exception.
