I always thought this was the case anyways.
A passage in Romans states "It is good to fear the sword of the state, for it has its purpose."
I had always cited this in defense of the death penalty, but I now see other considerations.
1 - The Pope is dealing with the rest of the world, who's law don't provide the protections afforded in the U.S.
2 - I've seen way too many examples of prosecutors aggressively pursuing high conviction rates, simply to further their political careers. Too many have been released from death row, in recent years, based upon DNA evidence.
3 - Just because we can cite cases where it is perfectly justified, doesn't mean we can insure against abuse in other cases.
The Pope, despite what Pope Francis has done, is not an Emperor. The headlines are accurate: Pope Francis indeed has “changed the Church's teaching on the death penalty”. problem is that Pope are not supposed to change long-held teachings by fiat.
The Catholic Church is in crisis and a a state of de facto schism. Will is soon be in a state of actual schism? Stay tuned.