Death Penalty and the Conservative View

My biggest problem with the death penalty is not that I care about the rights of a murderer, or whether it is a deterrent, or how much it costs. I simply do not trust our government enough to decide life and death. Just like I don't want the government to be in charge of my health care, retirement, or sexual choices, I don't want the government to choose life and death, where the inevitable mistake is one that can never be corrected.

I have never understood why those with a view of government as being inept, corrupt, and parochial would then insist that it should have the power to kill.