I think the 'deserving to die' sentiment is faulty. Sure I felt James Byrd's murderers deserved to die.. but just because that's MY sentiment, doesn't mean he SHOULD die

If a skinhead broke into my dwelling and wasted me in front of my computer at this moment, by this 'some people deserve to die' logic, he should be able to leave my carcass with no consequences pending. In his eyes, I deserved to die because of my skin color.. as silly as it may sound, it's the same thing. And just as that skinhead, America (and those within it's culture) has been known to have a FUCKED up view of who's deserving of what

And is death an adequate punishment? You're killing the convict (and ending his pain, excluding afterlife beliefs) and most likely putting incredible pain on his family members and friends.. people that have nothing to do with the victim. IMO, lifetime confinement is much more reasonable.

'Not merely a concrete test of the underlying principles of the great republic is the Negro Problem, and the spiritual striving of the freedmen's sons is the travail of souls whose burden is almost beyond the measure of their strength, but the name of this land of their fathers' fathers, and in the name of human opportunity'-- W.E.B. Du Bois