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There are many secular reasons to oppose the death penalty (costs, failure to deter crime, racial disparities, innocence/DNA testing, lack of transparency from states, etc). There are also many reasons that Christians should be among the loudest voices to end the practice.
Christians are called to care for the imprisoned. Inmates are one of the groups specifically identified in Matthew 25 when Jesus says, "whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."
And sure, that's easier to say when someone is serving a sentence for robbery or possession. But what of the murderer on death row?
St. Paul is one of the few saints who is highly revered by both Catholics and protestants—though many of the latter obviously don't call him a saint. While there is no evidence that Paul killed anyone directly, he certainly facilitated or approved of violent actions that resulted
in the deaths of Christians. When St. Stephen was being stoned, Paul both approved of the killing and guarded the clothes of the martyr's murderers (which could have potentially lead to his own death sentence had he been tried in a law of parties state).
Like the last-minute salvation of St. Dismas (the Penitent Thief), Paul's conversion and contributions to the early church shows special favor given to criminals. That's not a coincidence. The Bible is full of examples of how the "worst" are still redeemable.
The last time I said this in an argument, someone replied that the examples were irrelevant. So here are some examples of redemption in our lifetime:
Earlier this year, I covered the execution of Nick Sutton in Tennessee. https://reason.com/2020/02/21/tennessee-executes-nick-sutton-despite-protests-from-prison-guards-and-the-victims-families/
Prior to his execution, a clemency petition was filed on behalf of several of his victims' families, the jurors who sentenced him to death, and various corrections officers to ask that his death sentence be commuted to life in prison.
"Nick Sutton has gone from a life-taker to a life-saver," read the petition, which detailed how the man who took four lives in the past ended up saving five while behind bars. One TDOC officer said he owed his life to Nick after being protected in a prison riot.
He said he would even welcome Nick into his home if ever released. https://reason.com/2020/01/15/corrections-officers-jurors-and-the-families-of-nick-suttons-victims-want-him-taken-off-death-row/
A friend also recently told me of the story of Claude Newman. Claude converted while on death row in Mississippi after saying he saw a Marian apparition.
Claude's conversion, which is a wild story, eventually led to the creation of the Immaculate Conception parish for Clarksdale's black community. https://www.ncregister.com/blog/astagnaro/the-amazing-conversion-of-death-row-inmate-claude-newman
Coincidentally, today is Tuesday. If you're planning on praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, you can use this prisoner's rosary ( https://www.humanrightskcsj.org/uploads/2/1/2/7/21274880/prisoners_rosary.pdf) to pray for conversion of hearts and a fairer criminal justice system.
