I'd never lower myself to their standard. This is not what my wife would want of me or for me.

As for the death penalty it does not deter anything, its barbaric and something people in third world toilets do and the USA as a form of retribution/justice and is applied unevenly across spcio-economic boundaries. The legal standard is only guilty beyond a REASONABLE DOUBT, there is still doubt. Its costly and costs more then keeping someone in prison plus what would you prefer the rest of your life in prison without possibility of parole or dying. If you want it to be as slow and painful as possible then the rest of your life in the brutal prison system would be the way to go.