Saddam and the Death Penalty

I thought I'd bring up something that we all can agree on :)

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As of July 1, 2006, the Death Penalty was authorized by 38 states, the Federal Government, and the U.S. Military. Most presidents have been supporters of the death penalty, including the last ones; Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. Yet despite this I was surprised to find that my internet search for quotes didn't surface pro-death penalty quotes by anyone of note. Here are a few of the quotes I found:

I always say that I don't criticize anybody's position on the death penalty because I've held all of them. -- Scott Turow

"I was personally opposed to the death penalty, and yet I think I have probably asked for the death penalty more than most people in the United States." -- Janet Reno

"The death penalty is a poor person's issue. Always remember that: after all the rhetoric that goes on in the legislative assemblies, in the end, when the deck is cast out, it is the poor who are selected to die in this country." -- Sister Helen Prejean

"We oppose the death penalty not just for what it does to those guilty of heinous crimes, but for what it does to all of us: it offers the tragic illusion that we can defend life by taking life." -- Most Rev. Joseph A. Fiorenza

"I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the Angel of Death." -- Elie Wiesel

I have to admit that I am on the fence about this one but lean to a pro-death penalty position for extreme cases like that of Saddam. I am interested in what you think about the death penalty and if you have any interesting quotes on it.