Capital Punishment - Should we…??? Or shouldn't we…???

Makes Perfect Sense: The recent deliberate, cold-blooded and calculated murder of two young police women and the abduction and probable murder of 5 year old April Jones are just two more episodes in a long line of offences that should, in the opinion of many, be punishable with a death sentence. Many feel it is way past time that society toughened up in many areas relating to crime and reinstating capital punishment for those that deliberately, ruthlessly and coldly take the life of another is perhaps one of those areas. Although some people disagree, it is a move that actually makes perfect sense and there are at least three good reasons as to why. 1) The ongoing capital cost to society. 2) The measure of justice for the victims and their families. 3) The message it presents to others. Oh, and yes, one other point, to allow the perpetrator to appreciate how it feels, albeit somewhat briefly.

Somewhat Risky: There was a time when capital punishment was somewhat risky, as perhaps you could never be completely sure that you had the right person, and therefore, might commit an almighty blunder by executing the wrong one. Of course, once they're gone, you can't get them back. Although the number of wrongful executions may have been a mere fraction of the people murdered, even by those who have been released to do it again (yes, unbelievably, some are), it was still a reasonable argument against such an institution being implemented. That situation, due to the advances in modern forensic science, is surely now all but extinct! The only way someone can be wrongly sentenced is if they have been deliberately stitched up. This being the case, when we know for sure that guilt is absolutely beyond doubt, shouldn't we just execute the offender and get it over with? Job done!

Cosy Prison Comfort: It is certainly the case nowadays that all too often perpetrators get more rights, consideration and preferential treatment than the victims and the victim's families, and nowhere is this more true than when it comes to deliberate, cold, calculated, murder. There is no real justice in allowing someone to purposely end the life of another completely innocent human being in such a fashion, usually a young lady or even a child, and then allow them to live the rest of their life in cosy prison comfort at the taxpayers' expense. Such an outcome is an insult to the memory of such victims and simply shows the perpetrators of such crimes that they cannot lose, even if they do get caught.

Punishment Should Equal Crime! If you're going to punish someone for committing a crime, the punishment really should equal, or at least fit, the crime, and where it doesn't it gives completely the wrong message. If people know that deliberately taking the life of another will mean they forfeit their own, they may well think twice about doing it, thereby potentially saving others from such a fate. Apart from the unwarranted suffering and death of the victim, the tremendous loss and extreme emotional suffering inflicted on the living is irreparable. It would at least give the victim's families a feeling that the scales of justice are balanced a little more evenly under the circumstances rather than being weighted and one-sided in favour of any perpetrator.

Ill-Afford, Ill-Deserved! As for the capital cost to society, in financial terms it can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to catch a killer, tidy up behind them, and try and sentence them. Add to that a million pounds or so to keep them in jail for a life term and we can see it's an expensive business. If they are a paedophile or sex-killer, i.e. a NONCE (Not On Normal Courtyard Exercise) it costs even more to segregate and protect them from the other inmates for their own safety. Prisons are overcrowded, and society is struggling to make ends meet. With hospital closures and health cut-backs, etc, one would assume this is money we can ill-afford. It is certainly money that is ill-deserved.

Appropriate Justice: Many people die undeservedly in this world and life is especially short for the victims of such crimes who have their lives taken from them so prematurely without asking for it. If you do not allow someone the chance to live their life, because you selfishly take it from them, you should not really expect the same privilege for yourself! It is, I would suggest, merciful to give such people a quick end, and likewise, merciful to save society the burden of having to look after them. I wonder how many people, given the choice, would not wish to waste a penny more than necessary on people that have committed such a crime. Send out the appropriate message with the appropriate measure of justice. If you deliberately take a life, you will forfeit your own. Treat them as they have treated others and save ourselves a pound or two! It is that simple!