Opponents of the death penalty should be emphatic that relative to what is 'deserved' -- that is, to what those who have committed murder have reason to claim from their society -- there are many who 'deserve' to die. Indeed there must also be many who similarly 'deserve' that penalty among those who receive lesser sentences (as also among other guilty persons who are never apprehended or are not convicted). Indeed, there are some for whom legal execution is much better than what they 'deserve.' If the rhetoric rings a bit harsh to anti-capital punishment sensibilities, it is not designed for preaching to the converted. Somehow it must be conveyed that the capital punishment debate is not about what murderers deserve, but rather about how society should express and defend its fundamental values.