"The Loss Of a Single Life To a Judicial Mistake Must Never Be Countenanced."

However, against this, homicide stats from Scotland tell a rather interesting story:

'New figures show that 79 people were the victims of homicide in the year to the end of March 2010 - a drop of 20% since last year.' (BBC News Scotland.)
Most impressive. In fact, only around 400%+ more than in the days when killers faced the noose - down from around 600%. 14 murders annually in the whole of Scotland was fairly typical at the end of the 1950s.
One must always consider the big picture and not 'the snapshot'.