Should the UK re-instate the death penalty?

[Stevencc]

Why did you add the "for some crimes" option in the poll Red? I think we all assumed the question was pertaining to the worst of the worst crimes, unless johnnytodd and pontoonlew think that women, black people and the disabled should be put to death for such heinous crimes as stealing a loaf of bread or looking at someone funny.

 

[PaulHaddock]

Yes. If I had a child who was killed or raped by someone, I would wish death upon them and I could not consider otherwise. Obviously for lesser crimes like robbery then no, imprisonment is a worthy sentence.

 

[silkyman]

True but cases are extremely rare and I have faith in our Justice system over the Americans.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...c8d8c6-e515-11e4-b510-962fcfabc310_story.html

 

[silkyman]

In the USA it costs a lot more money to execute a convict than it does to lock them up for life.

Aw don't say that. The pro execution brigade love the financial argument. Because whether or not to take a human life should always come down to the £££

 

[Alty]

Theoretically not opposed if you know the person is guilty. There's a sort of pincer movement from anti-death penalty groups. One side whine on about death being an easy way out. The other is full of sanctimonious pricks clambering for the moral high ground.

Fact is if someone has committed horrific crimes, will never be released and will be nothing but a drain on society for the rest of their life in prison, we'd all be better off if they were gone.

Of course, the problem is that there are (still) miscarriages of justice. I guess the question you have to ask yourself is whether it's worth the hassle of trying to bring it back. The answer is probably no.

Agree with Cheese and Biscuits above. The fact we've insisted on keeping Ian Brady alive for donkey's years is a source of total bewilderment to me.

 

[Blitzballer]

For some crimes.

 

[Blitzballer]

Ian Huntley for example. Don't know how much he costs the tax payer but he gets 3 meals a day, access to recreational activities and nice bed. Most pensioners don't even get these basic facilities. He doesn't deserve to live after what he did. If Saville were still alive he would be another on my list.

 

[Alty]

Aw don't say that. The pro execution brigade love the financial argument. Because whether or not to take a human life should always come down to the £££

Baseless assertion. I hear far more people advocating the death penalty because they feel it offers a proper sense of justice than because it'll save us all money.

 

[mnb089mnb]

Ian Huntley for example. Don't know how much he costs the tax payer but he gets 3 meals a day, access to recreational activities and nice bed. Most pensioners don't even get these basic facilities. He doesn't deserve to live after what he did. If Saville were still alive he would be another on my list.

Most pensioners don't get three meals a day?

 

[Red]

Theoretically not opposed if you know the person is guilty. There's a sort of pincer movement from anti-death penalty groups. One side whine on about death being an easy way out. The other is full of sanctimonious pricks clambering for the moral high ground.

Fact is if someone has committed horrific crimes, will never be released and will be nothing but a drain on society for the rest of their life in prison, we'd all be better off if they were gone.

Of course, the problem is that there are (still) miscarriages of justice. I guess the question you have to ask yourself is whether it's worth the hassle of trying to bring it back. The answer is probably no.

Agree with Cheese and Biscuits above. The fact we've insisted on keeping Ian Brady alive for donkey's years is a source of total bewilderment to me.

What do you mean by sanctimonious pricks clambering for the high ground?

 

[The Paranoid Pineapple]

Genuinely can't fathom why anyone would think it was permissible in any circumstance.

 

[Gladders]

Yes bring it back for reasons already stated

 

[Red]

Most pensioners don't get three meals a day?

I think he's from Manchester where they're little more than savages.

 

[Red]

Why did you add the "for some crimes" option in the poll Red? I think we all assumed the question was pertaining to the worst of the worst crimes, unless johnnytodd and pontoonlew think that women, black people and the disabled should be put to death for such heinous crimes as stealing a loaf of bread or looking at someone funny.

I added that option because I have sometimes heard people say only for paedophilia and child murder.

 

[Stagat]

Baseless assertion. I hear far more people advocating the death penalty because they feel it offers a proper sense of justice than because it'll save us all money.

Fact is if someone has committed horrific crimes, will never be released and will be nothing but a drain on society for the rest of their life in prison, we'd all be better off if they were gone.

Just to clarify - do you mean a financial drain?

As for the 'we'd all be better off' thing. When you say 'gone', does that include being put to death? Because while obviously we'd be better off with a world free of the people you describe, I'd completely disagree we'd be better off by executing them.

No matter how much a drain keeping someone alive might be, it's dwarfed for me by the bigger issues of morality, dare I say spirituality, and of not taking our society back into more barbarous times when really we should be trying to move it forward.

No way would I feel better off in a Britain that brought back the death penalty. Honestly, quite the opposite.

 

[Alty]

What do you mean by sanctimonious pricks clambering for the high ground?

You know the people I'm talking about. Insufferable types who'll insist the only reason someone could possibly support the death is some weird deep-rooted bloodlust. Their ears close to arguments about sense of justice or the total futility of preserving life even if it's to be 'lived' out in prison. All they care about is hectoring those people who happen to think the death penalty might be reasonable for murderers.

I can't really get on board with the idea that Ian Brady being alive to this day in some way shows how enlightened we are.

 

[Tilbury]

Interestingly this is the first year in which the majority of the population has not been in favour of capital punishment.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32061822

 

[JaseTheVillain]

Ian Huntley for example. Don't know how much he costs the tax payer but he gets 3 meals a day, access to recreational activities and nice bed. Most pensioners don't even get these basic facilities. He doesn't deserve to live after what he did. If Saville were still alive he would be another on my list.

Which is why I stated the below statement about criminals who have committed certain crimes, I think I would probably add food priveleges to this statement, as in they only get enough food to be able to sustain their lives, not enough to be able to live comfortably and have a decent standard of living through food. I am more for the making them miserable for the rest of their lives rather than advocating an easy way to let them die.

Dependent upon the severity of the crime, I think some should spend time in solitary confinement for a set amount of time in order to stew over what they have done. Not to be allowed visits from family whatsoever. No television within their cells, or any other privileges that come with that. And the maximum amount of time allowed to be locked in their cell increased from 21 days up to 3 months for bad behavior.

I would also like to see repeat offenders treated more and more harshly each time, including the above being made stricter each time they spend time in prison, and the time spent there increased each time they commit a crime, rather than the same sentence being handed out each time a crime is committed.

 

[spireite]

Whilst the idea of some of the most hideous of criminals dying could feel psychologically satisfying, I think it's very dangerous to hand power to a government to execute its own citizens.

Even if we did agree that some people deserved to die; whilst ever mistakes are still made in our justice system we can't kill people for their crimes. I'd rather have a murderer walk free than risk sentencing an innocent person to death. It's also very unethical and doesn't sit easy with me to kill someone who quite probably has mental health issues.

 

[SUTSS]

Yes. If I had a child who was killed or raped by someone, I would wish death upon them and I could not consider otherwise. Obviously for lesser crimes like robbery then no, imprisonment is a worthy sentence.

And that' exactly why the parties affected don't get to choose the sentence.

 

[silkyman]

Baseless assertion. I hear far more people advocating the death penalty because they feel it offers a proper sense of justice than because it'll save us all money.

You even used the 'drain on society' angle yourself!

 

[lordofthepies]

I can't tell if Alty is the real Pagnell or not.

 

[Luke_ciderhead]

100% no. The idea of the state having the power to decide who lives or dies sends a shiver down my spine.

 

[mowgli]

No for me, we should not be brought down to the same level as low lifes who rape and kill children or terrorists, but i want them to stay in prison until they die. Also no comforts like tvs in cells which makes their lives more bearable.

 

[JimJams]

Except you can't ever get to that. DNA evidence isn't infallible.

You can't with DNA no, but obviously there will be cases where guilt can be absolutely proven. Anders Behring Breivik for example.

 

[blade1889]

Two pronged attack for me...

First we have to make the prison system better, how? I'm not entirely sure but certainly more effort needs to be put in to rehabilitation as opposed to punishment so that once freed prisoners are less likely to re-offend. Every effort should be put into this through work projects during incarceration and after it, some may see that as them getting it easy but a prisoner released that can be a benefit to society is far more important than a prisoner punished but released onto the dole with a high chance of re-offending.

I would then introduce the death penalty for those who re-offend the worst crimes, peadophiles and murderers. These people would have been given every chance at a second life but still commited the worst imaginable crimes, for them I lose all sympathy. The fact they are re-offenders also decreases the chances of executing someone who is completely innocent. A quick thought for those who are against killing innocent people...what about when you release someone who goes on to kill another innocent person? The last time I checked very marginally fewer innocent people were killed from executions than re-offenders.

 

[You Orns]

I'm fully of the opinion life imprisonment should mean life imprisonment, murders shouldn't be let put full stop, meaning they can't reoffend. One case of an innocent person being put to death is one too many.

 

[silkyman]

You can't with DNA no, but obviously there will be cases where guilt can be absolutely proven. Anders Behring Breivik for example.

But then you make him a martyr.

 

[slaphead]

Whilst the idea of some of the most hideous of criminals dying could feel psychologically satisfying, I think it's very dangerous to hand power to a government to execute its own citizens.

You're not handing the state the power to execute people, you are handing the power to Judges to hand that sentence down. The Courts must and always will be seperate to the will of Government, that is one of the fundamentals of the Justice system in this country.

I'd rather have a murderer walk free than risk sentencing an innocent person to death. It's also very unethical and doesn't sit easy with me to kill someone who quite probably has mental health issues.

And if that murderer walks free and kills again? Another innocent person dies still. The death penalty should only be used in the most exceptional cases, Huntley and Brady seem to be the two popular examples. Terrorists are another I'd reserve the penalty for.

'Ordinary' murderers? No, life is adequate because in most murders there is a cause that triggered it, an argument or some such.

 

[slaphead]

But then you make him a martyr.

To whom? A small price to pay.