capital punishment? Too good for them?

[rustylady]

I have to say I'm a bit worried about capital punishment - usual feelings of "oh heck, what if it's not the right person". However, in cases where there is a totally proven case, then I go with the "eye for an eye" scenario - including "a life for a life". However, I would expect this verdict to be backed up by indisputable evidence.

As for Steve Wright (Ipswich), I feel the case against him has been proved, but possibly not the absolute 100% which would justify the capital punishment.

However, I now hear that they are going to put him in a high security prison and put him on suicide watch!!! Why!!! If he's guilty and decides to take his own life, then let him.

[jeannine]

Years ago I had the misfortune to watch that infamous 'Execution' video before it was banned. One thing it brought sharply in to focus is that capital punishment is totally barbaric, no matter which country it occurs in.

I'm with Blue Moon on this - if we condone murder by murdering murderers, how do we explain that logic to our children?

Also, when you think about how traumatised train drivers are when they run over suicide victims, it makes you wonder about the mental strain on the prison staff who have to deal with people on death row. Isn't it more logical to just ensure that people who could reoffend are kept locked up?

Maybe I've been watching too much Prison Break...

[sewer rat]

Whilst I am not 100% anti capital punishment, I do have a problem with the current prison sentencing regime whereby, in the majority of cases, the sentence served is half (or less) of the tarriff imposed by the judiciary. If someone is sentenced to ten years for a violent crime, they should serve ten years, not a day less. Forget good behaviour. Anyone can "repent" when they are banged up for 23 hrs a day, if they think it'll earn them time off their sentence. And while we're at it, ban TV'S, pool tables etc from prisons. One hour supervised exercise a day - that's it. Bring back chain gang style work programmes - not this soppy community service, which half the offenders just don't turn up for.
Too many prisons are nowe holiday camps - especially open prisons - what the f... is that all about. Open prisons should only be populated by those who have perpetrated white collar crimes, and not those who have committed violent crimes, regardless of how close to the end of their sentence they are. I'm not right wing but if that what it takes.

[TonyF]

Edited: Sorry folks, couldn't leave that on here, far too personal and traumatic.

[janeyo]

I don't really see why it should cost us thousands of pounds to keep them in prison for the rest of their lives... a bullet is so much cheaper.

janeyo

[MrsC]

have read the posts and really didn't want to reply, but, i understand what everyone says, i don't like the thought of capital punishment, but when you hear the evidence and what happened to the victims (from the murderers themselves) you begin to wonder why these people should be allowed to have everything in prison (they have a lot more than some honest hardworking people) and are allowed to carry on breathing, IMHO

[NOG]

They did, didn't they - it's called Australia!

But unfortunalty Dixie was deported from Aus back here...cos he was a naughtie boy out there as well.

I did like his defence though, "I was a walking home from the pub and I found a dead girl still warm so I thought I won't waste it".....now I have never heard that one before.

Now it looks like the Ausies want him back for killing a girl in Perth.....The Judge must think hes done other stuff cos he got a 34 yr tarrif....that a bit long for one murder these days.

[Two_Sheds]

Both Dixie and Wright have previous convictions (?) for sexual violence. Perhaps if they'd been properly punished for those crimes, they wouldn't have been set free to kill ?

[sez]

Capital punishment brings all who support it down to the same level as the killer (and yes, I'm sure I'd feel differently if it were a relative killed, but that's why we have courts etc, to try and provide an unbiased opinion).

I support proper life inprisonment to keep others safe, labour to 'earn their keep', but certainly not murder-for-murder.

[Snadger]

My main objection is how can we have a society where prisoners have colour TV, three square meals a day and warmth and comfort when we have pensioners dying of hypothermia, they can't afford to heat there homes because they have to make a choice between eating or heating.

How can this be justified?

[madmax]

Like TonyF I have witnessed death in many forms, young, old, sick, healthy, natural and unnatural. None pleasant. For the perpetrator of such vile crimes as murder, rape (of men as well as women), paedophilia one might think capital punishment is the answer... But surely we are just sinking to the criminals depths then?

The story recounted by Henri Charriere in Papillon might be brutal, but IMO this would be the best way to deal with such offenders. Herd them together and leave them to it. They want comfort? They build their own hut. They want food? They find/grow it for themselves. Remove all rights of living in a society from them. Like they removed the right to live from their victims. It disposes of social detritus and costs the tax payer very little. Those 'criminals' who are indeed insane or mentally unstable are a different kettle of fish. And here, health authority managers/accountants or government stats massager's need not apply for the job of deciding what to do with these folks. Having personally known someone who was close to my heart and was certified with a mental illness (she had threatened to kill) I realize these affected people do not need 'freeing into society' neither do they need the death penalty, but they need close supervision and treatment. In a secure environment - depending upon the degree of illness.

A difficult and always controversial subject this is - but for sure - remove all privileges for these criminals when in jail. They deserve nothing....

[jacob marley]

I heard on the radio yesterday that the prison population was 86,000 or there abouts and they was letting a lot out early because of overcrowding surely there must be some builders amongst them get them buildering some new prisons .
we will never get capital punishment back now that we are subservient to the EU and i was one of the people that voted for the EU all them years ago .
But they have got to lock them up and keep them locked up no parole not no how well thats me done had me rant for this week jacob

[hawthorns]

let them swing. eye for an eye in my book.we are way too soft in this country. look at the state we are in. to top it all off we pay to keep the scum behind bars. there are a lot of liberal left views on here.criminal should have no rights, we have no deterants or discipline in this country

[TonyF]

Hawthorns, unlike some people, those of us who have seen the results of this type of violence - both ways, criminals on victims and state on criminals - may have come to their views because of their life experiences, not because of 'liberal left views' rather than a Daily Mail rant? There is plenty of scope for deterence and discipline in the UK, the problem is that politicians have interfered with the policing system so much over the past few years, it makes practical, hands-on, street policing impossible.

And I have a great sympathy for the self-sufficiency argument for criminals, putting them in the same place with all the basic amenities (water, heating, electricity, fuel) and then let them get on with it, especially serial/long-term criminals, sex offenders, serial killers etc etc. if they want to wholly abuse society's rules, they can form a society which better suits their life style.

And of course, don't assume that we don't have people with those backgrounds using this web forum, either criminals or victims of serious crime - and I don't mean having your mobile nicked or the odd burglary and other low level crimes.

Unless you've been there and done it - and I have, I've been responsible for the violent deaths of at least (hopefully only) two people and badly injuring another, you have no idea what damage actually taking a life means but then, I suppose you could do it so easily because it says it's easy to do so in the Sun or the Mail.

[bobleponge]

This is clearly a contenscious subject as we knew it would be, and I dont want to fan the already burning flames but:
Like you TonyF I have also been personaly responsible for the violent deaths of people, but people are different. I dont have the hangover that you clearly have, and whilst I know that they were someones sons,brothers etc, I can sleep easily at nights.
I will always believe that incontrovertible evidence of serial murder should mean capital punishment, and yes, I know I could do it myself. Not because I read a certain newspaper but because my personal beliefs let me know I could.
I agree with Madmax in that genuinely sick people should be helped one way or another, however ... one of my best friends' fathers worked for over 25 years in a top security mental hospital. He told me that in his opinion, (he was a nurse not a doctor) he only saw 1 person who truly didnt know right from wrong.
The self-sufficiency issue will never appeal. If it was purely the matter of letting these people out on an island and letting them get on with it, perhaps, but Devils Island wasnt like that. The people who had their own houses were long term "trusted" inmates. The majority of people lived in vile prison conditions, and suffered appalling brutality in the name of "correction." I think the biggest indictement on that system was that within 2 years of Papillon being published, public disgust closed the system down.
I shall now stop adding to this thread as it its getting too personal for some people, but there will always be 2 opposing views to this, with precious few people in the middle ground.