It's an interesting topic and the pov perspective from the article was interesting in a voyeuristic sense, but I think she shortchanged the rationale(s) underlying the death penalty.
I think the death penalty is wrong, but its purpose isn't just for closure/catharsis. There's something to be said for punitive justice: "you did something society deems abhorrent enough to be put to death for." That the entire exercise is unpleasant to witness shouldn't have come as a surprise to our girl, Liz.