Morality in Death Note? Do the ends justify the means?

Death Note is a story where questions of morality are frequently asked, but only rarely answered. It seems to leave us to make up our own minds about these topics. Or at least if it has answers to offer, it isn't going to do so for quite a while to come.

In this show, both L and Light are portrayed as good and bad. At times it is hard to tell which is the villian and which is the hero. Both have good motives and their own ways of accomplishing them. Does this show even have any sense of good and evil, or just many shades of gray? By not giving us any solid answers about this topic, the writer seems to be asking us to start a dialogue about the meaning of the character's goals and if their means are justified by their worthwhile goals.

Since this topic can easily become incindiary, I'm going to ask everyone to remember that when discussing opinions they should not attack the person who holds that opinion. Also, remember that a contrary opinion does not mean that the person you are talking with is immoral. If we can't all remember this, I'd have to close the thread and I really don't want to do that. (I really hope I'm being paranoid about this.)