Define why you believe that a state has the right to stone people to death.

Answer, because they do. Simple. You really don't get that?

Maybe you should ask "why should a state have the right", then you might get an answer. But too late for that now.

First, stop calling it murder. It isn't murder, lets not go round and round here. But again, you have no intention of budging on a single point of this issue. Why do you expect others to consider your points of view?

You said you wanted to hold off until we have 100% certainty. That sounds to me like someone who cares about absolutes, call me crazy. I'm frankly happy with small margins of error (I live in the real world). There's a very small chance lightning will strike me dead, or my train will derail, or a cop will shoot me crossing the road. But it doesn't keep me inside eternally, there are levels of risk (even when it comes to terminal activities) that I'm happy to live with. I dont mind going outside even if there isn't a 100% guarantee that the system (or a random person, an act of god) etc might kill me or someone I neither know nor care about.

An eye witness these days might be wearing google glass with facial recognition software, there might be finger prints at the scene, a little dna, a system might have recorded speech recognition patterns, there could be eye scans .. how can you not accept that its possible to identify a person was in a place and did a thing with near absolute certainty? Do you struggle with epistemological doubt?

What's wrong with it being a bargaining chip. I mentioned trial by ordeal earlier, do you know how many people were found guilty? 1/3rd. Considered one of the most horrible systems for determining guild and yet 2/3rds of people were "saved by God" .. Why, because people consider those who are prepared to risk trail at great risk of personal harm are likely innocent. So death/harm on the table actually gives the benefit of the doubt to the prosecuted, If they are prepared to risk that to prove their innocence.

Now people may not think that way anymore, but it certainly isn't a "death option means bad". Like most things its complicated and taking a black/white approach is pretty foolish. But I can't imagine you'd ever consider another perspective, you're too fixed in your ways.

I've given up reading your post. Take it easy.