Can a person forfeit his or her right to life?

[Franzl]

Either you have an undeniable right to life or you don't. While the morality of capital punishment (compared to other legal penalties like prison) isn't an entirely clear issue in my mind, I would be very reluctant to refer to someone as "forfeiting" his right to life.

And, of course, whether or not you think a murderer deserves it, capital punishment is a terribly broken system in the United States and needs to be abolished. There's no legitimate argument that can be made in favor of the status quo.

[Franzl]

Isn't it traditional, in claiming someone has forfeited a right, to also claim it was never a right in the first place but a 'privilege'?

Yes, that's my problem with the way this is worded. Either a right exists or it doesn't exist - much like voting. (Which doesn't seem to be a right either in the U.S.)