There was a specific legal ban on this type of research, yet, the researchers continued anyways. It may have been "an accident," but that really doesn't afford them any excuse.

Yes, for the coverup. If it was a lab leak, we had the director of NIAID covering it up on national news. That is the kind of thing the people demand blood for.

Should we tolerate a culture of accidents and face preserving around nukes, grey goo (which this falls under?) there are things you only get to fail once..

The death penalty is a merciful punishment for going out of one's way to circumvent research bans that would have completely prevented a leak in the first place.