text: Catholics need to get better at explaining the Catholic position and principles on this debate. And get it behind us.  
  
  Death penalty is theoretically a just and legitimate means of protecting a people. 
  
  It is, however, a "last resort" means.
  
  In the US there is no conceivable case where putting someone to death is the only way to protect the people.
  
  Therefore we must NOT put people to death. 
  
  And we must happily pay any price to keep known dangerous people away from the population.
  
  50K a year? No worries.  100K a year? No worries. 
  
  We should be very happy to spend the cost of 2 Prius's to keep one person in jail for a year. 
  
  We waste more money on spilled beer or thrown out Gouda cheese. 
  
  And we must not give into starry-eyed ideas that all murderers can be rehabiliated with sufficient confidence. 
  
  Put them in jail. Keep them isolated.  Let them grow and develop in jail.   Pray that they find God and do apostolate in jail.   Shed no tears for murderers.