Evil and sick.

They have a brain defect.

I've known one guy executed here in Texas; I used to roughneck with him, Roger Vaughn. He was the type that helped create the term "oil field trash". He needed killin' just for the kind of person he was, much less the horrible crime he committed.

The other guy is a local man and has made the natl. news and is one of the poster boys of the anti-DP crowd, Hank Skinner.   A couple of yrs. ago he came within an hr. or so of being executed before his lawyers got a stay.   His case is important because of DNA testing and how the procedure will be used in future appeals for not only his own, but others. (a little simplistic explanation, but close enough) Several years ago, I thought he might actually be innocent, and that the story would make a great book, so I reviewed the court transcripts, interviewed all the witnesses I could and visited the scene of the crime and traced the route Skinner took after he fled the scene.

I gave up the idea of a book b/c I'm now 100% convinced he did it.   He has his own website, created by the French woman who married him a few yrs. back and there's another one, very similar in style, that rebuts all his claims.   It's a very interesting case, and there are YT vids of him being interviewed, well worth watching if you're into that sort of thing. (which I am, have been fascinated w/ executions since watching "I Want to Live" as a kid, watching "In Cold Blood" as well as reading the book and also reading Caryl Chessman's books)

I also follow a pretty good blog, The Skeptical Juror, which investigates many capital punishment convictions. I think the author is wrong on most, but others give me pause. To his credit, if someone is obviously guilty, he doesn't wring his hands over their execution.