The thing that makes capital punishment barbaric is that it's the equivalent of cutting off a thief's hand. It's a naked form of punishment, that seeks only to

The thing that makes capital punishment barbaric is that it's the equivalent of cutting off a thief's hand. It's a naked form of punishment, that seeks only to punish, not to repair or restitute, and which causes irreversible and grave damage. There is a simple alternative here for the truly guilty: life imprisonment and forced restitution (letting someone work to pay off their debt to society). I can only see two reasons to have capital punishment at all: bloodlust, and cost cutting (avoiding the expense of imprisonment). Either of those have no place in an enlightened justice system which aims to repair the damage done, not exacerbate it.