I don’t know why, but most people seem to think that the Jeffrey Dahmers or the sicko of this thread are worse than plain murderers. I disagree.
I would say that the person who does not have any pathological drive to kill to fulfill some fantasy but rather simply kills cold-bloodedly for money or out of convenience is much worse. This person’s mind is a lot closer to yours and mine, yet he has made a conscious decision that the lives of others are of no value.
For instance, read this (lengthy) description of Murder, Inc or this piece about the Iceman.
I personally have no real idea what is like to desire to kill or torture someone for reasons akin to sexual pleasure. I cannot put myself in such a person’s shoes and with certainty say what I would do or what I would not do. They are a mystery.
But the contract killer or the woman who milks old men for their savings and offs them – I understand their motives and I can condemn them. I have the same needs as they and am disgusted by choices they made. They sicken me.
If anyone “deserves” to get the death penalty, it is the cold-blooded killers. But the sickos? They almost don’t seem human to me. More like a rampaging elephant or mad dog. They might need to be killed out of necessity, but probably not nowadays. They are so alien, that I can’t say whether they deserve it.