Is Being Pro-Life and in Support of the Death Penalty a Contradiction?

In many of my discussions, I am amazed at the logic of progressive people, and what they regard as a "contradiction" or "hypocrisy." Quite often the question comes up: "Why are conservatives in favor of the death penalty, but at the same time pro-life?" To me, this is so non-contradictory that it should not need an explanation, but since I have seen the question arise so often, I am obliged to give one.

I will mention that I am presently not in favor of the death penalty in most cases. One of my main reasons for this is I believe the legal system is severely flawed at the present time, and various injustices and violation of rights often occur. Please refer to my article, "6 Major Factors that Could Prevent a Fair Trial," where I have explained this. It should make no difference, however, whether one is for or against the death penalty for the purpose of the argument, nor should it matter whether one is pro-life or pro-choice regarding the determination of whether or not a contradiction exists.

How could a person of sound mind and character possibly compare favoring the capital punishment of guilty murderers to the protecting of newly forming life, or even to the protecting of a newly forming blob of tissue in the ocean (for the evolution crowd or for those who don't believe life begins at conception)? If one believes that a non-guilty mass of slime should be protected, why is it hypocritical to believe that the guilty should be punished?

Perhaps I should offer a reward to anyone who can answer this, as I did a few years ago to anyone who could point out where it says "separation of church and state" in the Constitution (no one could point to the place, and no one could claim the reward).

I will present a real example of a contradiction and hypocrisy on the part progressive individuals. They present themselves as being against war and for everything peaceful all of the time. These are the people you hear howling against the President of the United States, and calling him "Hitler." They claim that "Iraqis are being murdered," and you hear them casting these accusations all of the time.

When these individuals are asked if they position themselves against the killing of the innocent unborn for reasons of convenience, they will say "no," and they'll maintain that killing in such an instance should be a matter of "choice."

I wanted to expose the real contradictions versus that which is not a contradiction. Being able to discern right from wrong does not represent hypocrisy, but rather displays sensibility and an understanding of the truth.