The Death Penalty. Thoughts?

So I'm writing a paper on capital punishment / the death penalty, and I was wondering what the users of Mibba think about it.
Abolish it, keep it up?
What do you think.
Does you state use the death penalty?
If so should it continue to use it?

Hehe, I live in Texas.
Texas has executed 439 people since 1976.
Texas has 358 people waiting on death row at the moment.

I would love to read your thought on the matter :)
thanks

Since my journal is not yet long enough:

*the information below was taken from the U.S. Department of Justice
In 2008, 37 persons in nine states were executed- 18 in Texas; 4 in Virginia; 3 each in Georgia and South Carolina; 2 each in Florida, Mississippi, Ohio, and Oklahoma, and 1 in Kentucky.

All 37 inmates were male
-20 were white
-17 were black

Lethal injection was used in 36 executions; 1 was by electrocution.
*the information above was taken from the U.S. Department of Justice

That electrocution bit, surprised me

Thoughts?