I'm not sure he really conflates the two things any more than necessary. The unpleasantness he describes is the result of moral doubts about killing a person w

I'm not sure he really conflates the two things any more than necessary. The unpleasantness he describes is the result of moral doubts about killing a person who no longer poses a threat to anyone. What he does, in my view, is to suggest that these doubts are justified and society as a whole should have those doubts as well. In other words, he gives a human face to the agony that society should feel about this. He isn't saying, oh the death penalty is great, but it feels so bad to administer it for some reason, so let's save ourselves the trouble, shall we?