[wheatrich]

1. No
Nobody has ever thought about the punishment regarding certain crimes before committing them. Everyone thinks they won't get caught therefore punishment for crimes is completely meaningless as a deterrence. (especially so from a life vs death sentence difference--is there really one in a criminal's mind? I doubt it)

2. I hope not. It's very rare for a person to change who they are.

3. Depending on court costs I think life is cheaper than death in some states (heck maybe all with the appeals process).

4. Yes, there's always more than a micro chance. The prosecution is hell bent on a conviction and especially if the defense is under funded and/or overworked that a jury would be easily mislead to a wrong conclusion if that's the case.

I'd support life because of these factors as long as the chance of parole (unless they are proven innocent)/escape is as minimal as possible but I certainly don't oppose death penalty for people that we can prove 100% committed such an offense worthy of it.

edit--of course what 100% consitutes varies greatly from person to person