Here is a look the somewhat arbitrary history of the death penalty

Places Offenses Punishments
Hebrew transgressions affecting whole community stoning
mob beating
Babylon selling bad beer
adultery
sex with mother
accepting pawns from slaves, minors
perjury in murder trials
unproveable murder claim
kidnapping a boy
helping slaves escape
looting
not capturing rebels in your bar
a non-temple priestess in a bar
poor house carpentry
father's carpentry kills a boy
stealing sacred property
inability to pay for stolen property
robbery of a free person
the ususal
drowning
burning
Assyria being a bad barber the ususal
Egpyt injuring a cat the ususal
Greece transgressions affecting whole community stoning
mob beating
forced suicide
Rome singing unruly songs
Christianity
immorality in vestal virgins
the usual
beheading
feeding to lions
gladiator battles
crucifixion
India stealing a royal elephant the ususal
Middle Ages Europe the usual
hanging
drawing and quartering
disemboweling
mangling on wheels
boiling alive
pressing under weights
forced suicide
early America the usual firing squad
hanging
late America murder
treason
gas chamber
lethal injection
electric chair
modern Afghanistan and Iran murder
drinking
adultery
throat slitting
et. al.

We are currently among a few nations that endorse the death penalty--not such good company:

AFGHANISTAN
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
BAHAMAS
BAHRAIN
BANGLADESH
BARBADOS
BELARUS
BELIZE
BOTSWANA
BURUNDI
CAMEROON
CHAD
CHINA
COMOROS
CONGO (Democratic Republic)
CUBA
DOMINICA
EGYPT
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
ERITREA
ETHIOPIA
GABON
GHANA
GUATEMALA
GUINEA
GUYANA
INDIA
INDONESIA
IRAN
IRAQ
JAMAICA
JAPAN
JORDAN
KAZAKSTAN
KOREA (North)
KOREA (South)
KUWAIT
KYRGYZSTAN
LAOS
LEBANON
LESOTHO
LIBERIA
LIBYA
MALAWI
MALAYSIA
MONGOLIA
MOROCCO
MYANMAR
NIGERIA
OMAN
PAKISTAN
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
PHILIPPINES
QATAR
RWANDA
SAINT CHRISTOPHER & NEVIS
SAINT LUCIA
SAINT VINCENT & GRENADINES
SAUDI ARABIA
SIERRA LEONE
SINGAPORE
SOMALIA
SUDAN
SWAZILAND
SYRIA
TAIWAN
TAJIKISTAN
TANZANIA
THAILAND
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
UGANDA
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
UZBEKISTAN
VIET NAM
YEMEN
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE


**" They say that patriotism is the last refuge
To which a scoundrel clings.
Steal a little and they throw you in jail,
Steal a lot and they make you king.
There's only one step down from here, baby,
It's called the land of permanent bliss.
......bob dylan