re: opposition to the death penalty
The death penalty, like gay marriage, is a hot button for a lot of conservatives, but something I've personally never seen the need to hit the barricades for.
They abolished it in the 70s, and brought it back, and I didn't notice much change. Given the endless appeals, for most people death row is no different than life without parole anyway.
Life without parole, contrary to some conservative myths, seems to work.
Note that in the case of appeals, life without parole is in some ways even more strict.