It probably isn't prudent for me to say anything substantive on this point, but I will say that there are an awful lot of very harsh retributivists in the comments to this post on Kotaku. Consider that the crime, as reported earlier here occurred roughly as follows:
At 6 PM in the evening, the manager of a Gamestop franchise and one of his employees were closing up the shop. One of the customers lingered as the others made their purchases and left. Once he was alone with the manager and the employee, the customer took out a gun. He threatened the two and demanded the store's cash and merchandise. At some point, the employee's father entered the store to pick up the employee. The robber tied up all three and gagged them with duct tape. The robber spent about an hour and a half in the store, which may include the time he was there waiting for the store to close. He stole some video games and DVDs. He also stole the manager's car, which he drove off in. Sometime afterwards, and we don't yet know the time of death, the manager of the store died of asphyxiation, likely because of the duct tape.
The suspect has just been apprehended. He has several prior convictions for forgery, obstructing a law enforcement officer, possession of cocaine, and selling cocaine. He has been charged with murder, three counts of kidnapping, three counts of false imprisonment, three counts of armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
By my judgment, the median Kotaku commenter is calling for the perpetrator's death. The most extreme commenters want him to be publicly tortured to death to set an example for others.
Without wishing to offer my opinion on the matter, I don't believe any prosecutor outside the state of Texas, and probably most Texan prosecutors as well, would consider this a death penalty case.
