It is not a good thing in the real world, because of how corrupt and incompetent governments are and can be. There isn’t a benefit that could outweigh executing innocent people.
In a hypothetical world where we are certain who is guilty, do whatever is more practical/convenient: If it is cheaper or better at deterring crime rate, execute them. If it is more practical to give them life in prison then do that.
In the world we have where executions are happening, N2 is leagues better than any other method I heard of being used in practice. And there are many much more important issues to fix.