I don't support the death penalty in any case.

My problem with the UK in general is that many people do not have any faith or any real understanding in our justice system. They view prison as a "punishment", and ignore the point of it also being a place for rehabilitation. I think that most Brits look at the US justice system and think "yeah, I'd love a bit of that", all while they shower praise on places like Timpsons for giving jobs to ex-prisoners looking to get their life back on track.

Back to murder, when you view prison as only punishment you look at murder as "the ultimate punishment", which is essentially no different to the crime the person committed. The crime was an extreme reaction, so you pair it with an equal extreme reaction? It's also the easy way out, where in reality someone that has committed a truly despicable crime should face a long time under surveillance to separate them from society. In the UK, you don't just "get released" like in the US, you stay on registers, you have to check in weekly, and you are closely monitored - with one slip-up throwing your ass back into jail.

I put much of it down to ignorance from the public, and the fact that generally the British public are probably more right-wing than people believe.