The taking of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict on another, even when backed by legal process. . . Where the death penalty persists, conditions for those awaiting execution are often horrifying, leading to aggravated suffering.
Indeed, the real question is not, "Why greatness?" but "What work makes you feel compelled to try to create greatness?" if you have to ask the question, "Why should we try to make it great? Isn't success enough?" then you're probably int he wrong line of work.