Lets face it - the US judicial system isn't perfect. Second of all, new evidence can be found any time. By giving the system the power to terminate people's lives, that person is gone. *Poof* It doesn't matter if in another month new evidence is found to prove their innocence - there is no one to free anymore. Every year you hear of people being freed because of new evidence. What if they had been killed because of the crime they had supposedly commited? What if it happens to you? If you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and are arrested for a crime, do you want to be sentenced to death? At least a life term gives you the chance of getting that evidence to set you free.