Death Penalty Reform?

Should the status quo remain? Should it be ended? Is there a middle ground of reform?

I just read a compelling article entitled, "I oversaw 36 executions. Even death penalty supporters can push for change,"  by Mark Earley from The Guardian. Earley is a former prosecutor who is a supporter of Capital Punishment. The author of this article contends that there is a need and purpose for the death penalty; but it's troubling flaws are systematic and in need of reform. It is an uncomfortable and heated topic which differing sides are deeply entrenched with no flexibility. Earley states,"We all know what is wrong with our death penalty system, supporters and abolitionists alike. There are those who say it can never be "fixed" – and they may [sic] right. But there are real changes that can reduce errors." Here's an excerpt below. For the full article click on the "article" link above. 

Watching failures like this from a proverbial front-row seat made me realize that, though the death penalty may be justified in some circumstances, the procedural safeguards are too weak to adequately protect the innocent. After witnessing how my own state's death penalty system really worked, I just didn’t have the heart for it anymore. I am not unique in having the scales fall from my eyes after such immediate contact with the lack of justice and fairness in state death penalty systems throughout the United States.