@BillRM,
The death penalty should not be used in any case.
Not because it is cruel and unusual, but because we should not allow our government to kill any of us for any reason.
I certainly understand why people see the retributional value in the death penalty and I don't have a moral problem with taking the life of a murderer.
Confine those who are now being sentenced to death to solitary confinement for life without any possibility of parole, and without any visitation rights, television or other such ammenities.
Allow them one hour a day to exercise, provide them with three healthy meals a day, and access to a wide variety of approved books. Give them all the paper and pencils they want and allow them to correspond (with prior review by prison officials) with anyone they may want. Provide a reasonable level of medical care, excluding extraordinary procedures such as organ transplants.
In some ways, and for some people, this could be worse than death...and apparently, because of all the endless appeals, it's cheaper.