I absolutely believe that a society has the right to establish a 'death penalty' for certain crimes.
I believe that our society does NOT administer the death penalty at all well. The richer and 'whiter' you are the less likely you are to get the death penalty.
I also personally believe that the endless wait between sentence and execution is 'Cruel and Unusual' and against our constitution.
So. I have no theoretical problem with a death penalty, but do not like it because of the practical problems. Better no death penalty than what we have now.
In fact since 1976 55.6 percent of executions were white and 34.5 percent were black. But 52 percent of homicides were committed by blacks while only 45 percent were committed by whites. So in fact you are MORE LIKELY TO BE EXECUTED IF YOU ARE WHITE!