The possibility of abuse and errors makes it a no-go for me and I was wondering why he went so over board with this. He has a voter base that goes along with this but the people he needs to convince are rather repelled by this. Also "death penalty for drug dealers"? Seriously? The war on drugs is getting reverted in parts and he wants to ramp it up with death penalties? Many states have abolished the death penalty. How does that even work then? I'm not from the US.

We also have federal courts here with something called dual sovereignty. I assume that's what is meant here.

And I actually think federal courts and crimes should be A LOT more limited than they are. Frankly, I think federal courts should be mostly for issues between states. It's a power that does get abused.

Death penalty is immoral in all cases. The discussion ends right there. Now, that said, I also think keeping criminals housed and fed for free on the backs of tax payers is immoral. Furthermore, if the goal of criminal justice is restitution, simply jailing criminals does little for the victims. Forced labor for a salary, and sending that salary or most of it after living expenses (in jail) to the victim as restitution sounds like a better option overall.

I live in a country where people were chanting and raising their fists in 2016 when then candidate Rodrigo Duterte promised the people he will turn Manila Bay red, with the blood of people he will kill. People clapped and cheered this. Most responses in favor of this - comes from a victim mindset. Like if you were the son or family member of a victim. That said, the topic is multi-faceted. A huge part of it deeply personal. If you come from a spiritual and religious perspective, and read the part where God was bringing judgment on Cain, God gave him a mark - that is, the Mark of Cain, that forbade other people from seeking retribution. In predominantly Muslim South of our country, there is such a thing as a "rido" or clan wars. Where tribes or communities, perform revenge killings often to such extent that both sides are almost extinguished.

From a law enforcement perspective, it depends.... What kind of nation are you trying to create? I would say that some countries take it too far, to stifle dissent and enforce a heavy hand on a populace. Authoritarian regimes such as Iran come to mind. This could backfire, as the recipients of this could become martyrs. Martyrs make for an unstable political sphere. In Spanish-era colonial Philippines, it was the death of martyrs that spurned the revolutionary movement. Earlier on, the death of Catholic priests, Gomez, Burgos and Zamora (Garrote). And of course, the trigger, was the firing squad death of Jose Rizal. On the other hand, you also have Anders Behring Breivik, who murdered 69 people. He is currently suing the Norway government for violating his human rights...

Trump advocating for this, is a negative approach in politics. Instead of, for instance, promising jobs, bolstering the economy, (which are both positive), this approach takes into account the fear, pain and anger of people. If elected, then we can say with some generally accepted consensus that "the people voted for it". We are trying to judge the moral acceptability of imposing death penalty on arbitrary items, such as the ones you mentioned above. But it really is a matter that falls on the shoulder of any leadership. --- 22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!”

I think, victims feel better with their perpetrators in jail, so it does something for them. With the expensive US jails, there is no way the average criminal could pay for their own "expenses" and much less for payments to their victims. Bringing down these costs could do more for the tax payer than to make them work.

I agree that it may be partial comfort. I think the victim of a crime should have a say in what sort of compensation they can demand, within an arbitrary range of options set by social custom and morality, which includes things like proportionality and no death penalty. US jails are expensive only because the current system of jail contracts paid for with the taxpayer's money is a source of massive corruption.