I would like to have hope that everyone decides whether they believe one way or another about the death penalty on their own. It would and is a sad day when a certain group of people try sway people into joining a collective thought. Everyone deserves to have their own opinion.
I guess you could look at it like this:
Police Officer Ted just lost his partner because a murder shot him. Ted would of course be inclined heavily to go for the death penalty to avenge his fallen partner.
Police Officer Ray is headed home for the night, he gets his wife some flowers and heads home. Upon arriving he hears his wife scream in pain. Ray drops the flowers, readies his weapon and charges in. He rushes to the living room and sees a man who has a gun to his wifes head. Ray instantly reacts and being a dead shot he killed the man who was holding his wife captive.
The family of the murdered offender takes Ray to court and sues him for wrongful death, even knowing everything we know about Ray and his situation. The legal system gets twisted and the jury finds Ray guilty of murder, sentenced to the death penalty. Ray would believe the death penalty was wrong and the system did not give him justice.
I know this is VERY far fetched but it is two examples of how two different police officers view the death penalty, as should everyone else. I believe once again no "collective" show sway you one way or the other, just think and make your own decision what is right for you. Police or not. Very interesting post by the way. Got to get some of my views on this topic out in the open.