Why I Oppose the Death Penalty

From the pages of the ACLU website, here is a perfect example.
"Rarely have the actions of ACLU supporters like you made such a powerful and tangible difference as they have in the life of death row prisoner Troy Davis. Over the past two weeks, tens of thousands of ACLU activists have demanded justice for Troy. Without that outcry, a man who is most likely innocent may well have been killed by the State of Georgia without any court ever hearing the compelling evidence of his innocence. Yesterday, in a dramatic turn of events, the United States Supreme Court saved Troy Davis’s life just two hours before his scheduled execution. His fate is now in the hands of the Supreme Court. They’ve stayed his execution. But, unless they now decide to hear his case, that stay will soon be lifted. And then only Georgia officials can stop his execution.Troy Davis’s case is far from unique. Sadly, it is a very public demonstration of what can go wrong when courts and legislatures use procedural barriers to block persuasive claims of innocence and other constitutional violations. And he is only one of the thousands of others on death row. "
"The case of Troy Davis highlights some of the many problems that death penalty supporters have no answers for: the risk of innocent people being executed, inadequate counsel, and racial and economic status disparities.Since Troy Davis´s trial, seven out of the nine witnesses against him have recanted -- correcting the story they told in court. Of the two witnesses that did not recant, one did not identify Troy Davis as the shooter until two years later. The other is the alternative suspect in the murder. Political expediency and embarassment on the part of prosecutors, governors, and even judges can prevent rightful claims of innocence from being heard.When mistakes are made with the death penalty, they often cannot be fixed.Innocent people who are executed suffer an irrevocable punishment and the ultimate denial of due process and civil liberties. There have been 130 exonerations from death row in the United States in the past 35 years, and a good number of inmates have been executed despite serious questions about their guilt."
Why is the US the only major industrial country that still executes prisoners? I think we can do better...