DEATH PENALTY *_* -a deterrent or pure murder?

The DEATH PENALTY, the one thing that all criminals fear. In today's society, the death penalty is what you deserve when you commit a crime, especially when you have taken someone else's life for your own benefit. At the top of the capital punishment crime list lies first degree murder, followed by a trail of other terrible crimes, including drug trafficking, terrorist activities and treason. All these crimes usually threatens national security, and so they have to be dealt with severely.
In Singapore, there are various ways of executing the criminal. For example, the most common methods are hanging and electrocuting them in an electric chair. I feel that for first degree murder, the crime is too severe to be dealt with lightly. If other people were to know that murderers are just sent through rehabilitation, this might encourage copycat crimes, because other convicts are not afraid of the consequences.
But is the death penalty the right choice for dealing with a convict? Do we really have to take the criminal's life just because he took one? From the deceased family's point of view, they would agree that the convict deserves the death penalty. But is this a case of justice or revenge? Humans are not very rational, especially at a time when their loved one has just been murdered by a criminal, and they are filled with rage and sadness. Thus, a third party, like a judge, is needed to determine the severity of the crime and if the criminal deserves a second chance.
In my view, i support rehabilitation over capital punishment as i believe in second chances. However, this consequence only applies to certain crimes, like drug trafficking and rape. Crimes like first degree murder, terrorism and treason are too severe! Rehabilitation allows the criminals to reflect over the reason for committing the crime and may help jerk them back into reality. They might be able to experience guilt and sadness for the victim, unless they are really inhumane. After being given this second chance to be "reborn" again, if they don't make the best out of the opportunity given to them, then they will deserve capital punishment if they commit the same offences again.
Will 2 wrongs make a right? What if it doesn't? It will definitely be much too late to turn back time. The methods of execution that we use today are not any less cruel and inhumane than the ones practised in the past. I feel that every person has the right to die peacefully, and not forced to die just like that. Also, a point that was brought up in class was the irreversibility in miscarriages of justice- where it is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn innocent people. When a guilty suspect has been executed, there is no chance for it to be undone. So, the law should really consider if a guilty person deserves to be "murdered" or given a second shot at life. All in all, humans really should not play God. Rather, humans should take that first step to give others a second chance. If they were the criminals, i'd expect them to want a second chance too.
Therefore, i am AGAINST the death penalty.