I don't feel like quoting Tolkien is going to win anyone arguments.

We should keep in mind that Gollum is for a short time reformed before he tries to lure Frodo and Sam to their deaths so that he can have a golden ring...

Not the poster child for capital punishment reform. Turning off snark, that quote sounds very informed by Tolkien's Catholicism.

If this wise man, who cannot see all ends, witnessed a wolf with a flock of sheep, would this same logic apply?

Yes, because the wolf-sheep situation is orthogonal to moral arguments about justice amongst the race of Men.

An alternative to capital punishment: exile.

Fence off a large part of the American southwest. Surround it with guard towers and automatic motion-activated machine guns to destroy anything that comes within 100 ft of the fence. Then drop the exiles off with a backpack of basic equipment and wish them well.

I think I saw that movie a few times. Never seems to work out well.

That's not "exile." That's just prison, only even more sadistic and poorly run.

It's not sadistic; it's neutral. Nature is the only guard. It's not poorly run; it's not run at all. This is nearly the very definition of exile, so I'm not sure where your confusion comes from. Perhaps you feel throwing them into a desert is inhumane? Fine, then fence off part of a jungle or plains with a river or something else more comfortable. Build some basic infrastructure if necessary.

> only even more sadistic

Remember Florence ADX.

I assume this is a reference to "Esacpe from LA".

Or, since we've already brought Dune into the picture up-thread, Salusa Secondus.

Or the Heinlein short story "Coventry": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_(short_story)

No, it is a modest proposal.