I was thinking about this and I came to the following conclusion:
If you execute a Cylon, he doesn't get a Super Crisis, but he still gets to take his turn right away when the rotation gets around to him.
If you put him in the Brig however he has to waste a whole turn doing nothing but revealing himself.
I believe that having to waste a whole game turn would honestly be far more damaging to a Cylon player than the loss of his Super Crisis card, so if I was pretty **** sure of someone's status as a Cylon I would rather send him to the Brig than Execute him.
If I was on the fence about their Status however, I would probably go for the execution to see loyalty cards.