And I would respectfully disagree with St. John Paul the Great on this issue--as I respectfully disagree with Pope Francis. Pope Francis, though is more radical than JPII. 

I don't by JPII's logic.  Some hardened killers continue to kill from prison. The fact that they do this demonstrates that they cannot be safely locked up and must be put to death in order to protect society. Osama Ben Laden also, I think qualifies as a good example of someone who needed to be executed in order to protect society. 

As for Pope Francis, he is trying to claim that the the death penalty is an intrinsic moral evil. This claim is simply wrong. Being for or against the death penalty is a prudential judgement.