Do you support capital punishment ?

[thenry]

Or let the bar stewards have human rights in jail ad infinitum ?

[DTCwordfan]

Definite No.

(i) what happens when you have got the decision wrong (as has happened)
(ii) lobbing their heads off, hanging them or even sticking a needle or sparking them - well they don't suffer anymore - far better let them rot in prison and be abused (decently re guards) and not so decently re fellow prisoners.

[starone]

I think it is wrong to deprive someone of the life that has been given to them. But then how do you punish someone who has done this (in my opinion) ultimate crime? Are we then guilty of the same crime for taking that person's life? And if we gave the person who had perpetrated the crime to the people who are suffering from that crime, what would they do with them? I think they would be torn apart, especially if a child was involved. I cannot think of anything worse. As for abortion, ric.ror, I think this also is a type of murder, but there are exceptions - pregnancy as a result of a rape, something vastly wrong with the foetus are two instances I can think of in which I would advocate abortion. There are probably more, like perhaps danger to the mother's life. It is certainly a very difficult question to answer.

[Anngel]

The real issue here, as I see it, is not the jail, but how comfortable people are made there. I believe that it costs over £1000 a week to keep someone in prison. That being the case if the government paid each person imprisoned £500 per week but not put them away that would be a saving. I imagine that most of us would be content with £2000 a month.... I certainly would be delighted. This business of having to give people choices of meals and suitable entertainment is just ridiculous. You did the crime, you have a miserable uncomfortable time inside then you are less likely to do it again. If, however, you are better off inside that out what is going to stop you> That said, I realise that the idea of being locked away is dreadful. But for people living in squalour on the breadline it is no deterrant.

[DTCwordfan]

Its going off topic slightly, anngel, but some 10% of the prison population is ex military and, in Scotland, 25% of ex military end up sleeping rough, (there are 350k veterans up there, so there are more than the current UK Army - never mind the rest of the Union).

So, to cut costs and incidents, I think we really need to look at exit programmes from the Forces. Talk to any ex-soldier etc and the exit programme is more than woeful.

[nailit]

As someone who has spent time in one of her majesty's 'holiday camps' and has known a lot of people doing time for murder I have to say no, I dont support capital punishment. The reasons that people commit murder are as varied as the people that commit it. A few real life examples that ive come across...
1) A man who was sexually abused as a boy came across his abuser as a man and killed him. Should he really be given the death penalty?
2)A heroin addict injected his mate with heroin (at his request). The heroin was contaminated and killed him. Two addicts, sure, but no intent to kill his mate. Should he have been given the death penalty?
3) A young man of 23 found out his girlfriend was pregnant by another man. The other man began taunting him and was pushed down the stairs in a rage. No intent to kill but he died anyway. Should he be given the death penalty?

Very few people actually go out with the INTENT to kill.

[Brenden]

Then it is not premeditated nailit - although some are.

[sir.prize]

nailit - and a monster deliberately takes the lives of two Soham girls.

Ask yourself your own question: Should he be given the death penalty?

[sandyRoe]

Nailit, would any of the three cases you mention have actually resulted in a murder conviction? They all look more like manslaughter.

[nailit]

As I said, very few people go out with the actual intention to kill. We all know about the Bradys and Huntleys of this world and life should mean life (which it does in these cases). I was just pointing out that taking someones life isnt always black and white. People still murdered when we had the death penalty without thought of the consequences and as has already been said, innocent people got hanged.

[FredPuli43]

Nailit, (1) and (3) of your examples look like cases where the defence of diminished responsibility may have been run but by rejected by the jury; it reduces murder to manslaughter. In effect, it is that the accused was acting under a temporary insanity brought on by provocation, which had him or her lose their self-control. But (2) seems to be manslaughter . If what you give us is the whole story, the accused did not intend either death or grievous bodily harm, but was reckless only, and so did not have the necessary intent to be guilty of murder. He could have been convicted of manslaughter as an alternative finding on the count of murder.

But the examples do give an indication of how murders, and murderers, differ widely. That is why so many murderers were spared the death penalty when it was the only sentence, and why , at one time, a statute specified the death penalty for certain murders, such as murdering a policeman on duty, but removed it for the rest. It's also why 'diminished responsibility' was introduced as a defence.

[starone]

With DNA tests there is less likelihood of a mistake being made (although I know it is still possible). I do not think capital punishment will ever be brought back in this country, although I believe it still exists for treason (I may be wrong). If it ever does get brought back I think there will be a great many fail safes in place to prevent a mistake being made.But I think I can say without fear of being wrong, that it never will.

[237SJ]

No but I would support capital punishment for mass terrorists. If people such as the 9/11 hijackers had survived, I would happily shoot them as they wouldn`t deserve to live.

[sir.prize]

237SJ - so you think these individuals do deserve to live . . .?

http://en.wikipedia.o...th_whole-life_tariffs

[parkie]

I have often wondered about some of the USA states which have murder 1, murder 2 etc. How that would work in this country?
For the record I have mixed feelings about the death penalty.