I have a question: if, for example, somebody who had his family killed by mafiosi or street gangsters doesn’t obtain justice through legal ways and kills the ones responsible for the massacre, or for example a father kills the one who raped and killed his daughter (also only after not having obtained justice through legal means), is it considered first degree murder or second degree murder? If it is first degree, then I don’t agree with you that ALL first degree murderers should be executed.
I know, such cases are few, it’s just I remembered some discussions I had on other forums about Japanese detective stories in which the victims very often are the real villains, while the murderers act out of despair or craziness.
But of course, this is of no relevance to most of the mafia crimes, since there it’s almost always about power or money, not despair. In these cases, I am all for life imprisonment.