Catholics, were Popes Pius V and Pius XII wrong about the justice of the death penalty for murder?

Death penalty is a Civil law. In the days of these Popes and even before there was a different mentality. In fact many countries had abolished the death penalty as the last punishment. Glad for that. One has to see it in the concept of the time when it happened. Otherwise the Church believes in forgiveness and instead of death, life imprisonment took place.