The first time he watched someone put to death a murderer, whose throat was slit by a member of his victim's family the sight made him sick.

NPR: 'The Swallows of Kabul' Book Excerpt

Hence, the Unabomber -- who killed three people and maimed and mutilated more than a score of others -- was treated with morbid curiosity by the press, as if he were a sideshow freak instead of a wicked, willful murderer who deserved to be put to death.

FORBES: Fact and Comment

But a murderer's chances of suffering arrest, trial and the death sentence are minimal.

ECONOMIST: Don��t bother to reform, just execute

Juries, aware that a life sentence does not mean what it says, opt for the death sentence because they perceive correctly that a murderer will then at least serve the rest of his life behind bars.

ECONOMIST: Letters