The death penalty should be used for the most egregious cases. People who have proved that they cannot co-exist with normal society (I'm not parroting Wolfling--after reading his first few sentences, I had to check to be sure they weren't my own!).

I believe that the Death Penalty should only be used when the evidence is overwhelming and the crime so heinous that it deserves no other response. Mumia Abu-Jamal comes to mind (I'm sorry, but what he did to a uniformed police officer was horrifying), as does John Wayne Gacey.

Otherwise, I have no issue with permanent confinement. It is unfortunate that prisoners currently have a betterlife than most Americans (except that they are confined to the prison with lots of other dangerous criminals).