If non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means . . . the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2267).
For those who keep insisting on the moral legitimacy of the death penalty in the United States, here is a question for you to ponder:
Does the most heinous murderer, rapist, perpetrator still bear the image (not the likeness) of God in their soul, despite the evil of their actions?