Matters of Life and Death: capital punishment in the world

Should the state have the right to execute a human being, for crimes of murder, treason, trafficking, mutiny, genocide, or whatever other heinous offence in law? The state's right to deny life was questioned by Milanese writer and academic Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) in his famous abolitionist treatise, Dei delitti e delle pene (Of crimes and punishments,1764), calling for rational reform in the law. His influence, directly or indirectly, led to the Leopoldine Code of 1786 in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany where, for the first time in Europe (and possibly the world) the death penalty was abolished.
In the map above, countries in blue have no death penalty. It exists in the red zones. Others either make limited use of it, or have not in practice had executions for several years. As of 1977 sixteen countries including Canada had eliminated capital punishment; by the end of 2005 the number had grown to 122 (either completely, or for the most part), while 68 countries retained it. The latter, however, include the most populous countries, so that a majority in the world live under authority that can take life.
In the United States twelve states and the District of Columbia have no death penalty, nor do numerous American territories abroad. Michigan abolished it as far back as 1846.
Canada removed the death penalty from the Criminal Code in 1976, and from the National Defence Act (where it remained for military offences, treason, and mutiny) in 1998.
Amnesty International is on record as opposed to capital punishment, along with a world-wide coalition of abolitionists who try to monitor trials for abuses of human rights.
The European Union mandates no death penalty as condition of membership.
Show trials and gruesome executions in Iraq can only enhance profound unease in that country, and elsewhere in the world. Blood vengeance by the state is not an acceptable solution in the modern world.