A couple of things here. Let's deal with the obvious first: Clayton Lockett (who did die, of a heart attack, 40 minutes into the process) committed a horrific crime -- he and his accomplices also tortured the 19-year-old woman that they murdered. He deserved to spend every day of the rest of his life behind bars. But at the end of it all, there's a reason why we like to call ourselves a civilization. Society is supposed to be better than the individuals that we must punish, and so the answer to violence is never pre-meditated state-sponsored violence. That's why the death penalty has been virtually banned by advanced democracies, and for the most part only takes place for the most part in ruthless dictatorships like North Korea, China, and Saudi Arabia.