Claire Kincaid: They strap you down. They stick a needle in your arm and run poison through your veins. It's barbaric.
Jack McCoy: I wouldn't weep for Paul Sandig.
Claire Kincaid: Revenge is sweet, huh?
Jack McCoy: Yes, it is. It's a natural human instinct and there's no need to apologize for it.
Claire Kincaid: No, except for the fact that it's illegal.
Jack McCoy: That's exactly my point. There is no private right of action under the criminal justice system and so the state has obligation to mete out fitting punishment.
Claire Kincaid: And that's why we have prisons. Because life without parole is fitting enough.
Jack McCoy: Let me ask you, Claire: Why do you suppose 38 states, and the federal government, and the military have all of a sudden adopted or readopted the death penalty?
Claire Kincaid: Like you said, people are sick of crime.
Jack McCoy: And the death penalty gives the feeling of control demanded by society. People are frustrated by the uncertainty of the system. They want to know for sure that Charles Manson won't ever be walking the streets again.
Claire Kincaid: You don't think there are less Draconian ways to gain the public's confidence?
Jack McCoy: No. I don't. And, believe me, if the state doesn't seek retribution then, the people will. There'll be more Ellie Nessler's walking into courtrooms with loaded pistols. You kill a cop; how long do you think it will be before the cops kill you? Legal execution is a means to prevent street justice.