Murderer set free for a week???

sounds like fairy tale but the government is capable of things we would never dream of. people in the gov't are human too and I am sure they are abusive of their authority.

There should preferably be no death penalty. It's easier said than done and that would work better in low crime, high trust societies like Japan and formerly some countries in Europe. Maintaining such a high civilization state of development should be a top priority for any leadership.

It should only be employed in order to instill fear and serve as a preventative measure. But if it's ever used, which is nothing to be celebrated, it should be reserved only for the worst of the worst, like ringleaders of criminal organizations, genocidal maniacs, or excessive cruelty; there's certainly an ever evolving debate to be had on the matter of when precisely it could be applied. If you start being excessively lenient in a place like Mexico, for example, I doubt that drug cartel leaders would be especially eager to return the favor. They've basically taken over the country and has experience not shown that the situation is a disaster?

And lastly, most people who have committed crimes are not criminals. They're human beings. Those who have suffered discrimination must never be punished excessively. They've already been punished by their hitherto circumstances. There's a lot of injustice and exploitation in the world which officially or unofficially goes around justice. More understanding and consideration is needed before playing God with people's lives.