The death penalty isn’t THE problem here, but it definitely is A problem here. The problem with the death penalty is masked slightly because of the US’s length

The death penalty isn’t THE problem here, but it definitely is A problem here. The problem with the death penalty is masked slightly because of the US’s lengthy appeals process and the Innocence project which delays a lot of these death penalties from being carried out which has meant that in many instances they have succeeded in delaying the death penalty long enough for the science that could acquit the innocent to be established. And in states which care about justice, as opposed to bloodlust, it’s saved innocent lives (and equally importantly, in some cases, helped nab the actual guilty party). But these stories are becoming increasingly rare because the states that care about justice as opposed to bloodlust have increasingly joined the first world by abandoning the death penalty altogether. Imprisonment for life still allows for innocence to be proven. The death penalty eliminates that option and it’s impossible to know at the time of sentencing whether new evidence would turn up.