Arguments for and against capital punishment

Arguments for and against capital punishment.

Contents.
Page 1 of 11
Is cap ita l pu n is hm e nt et h ically a cc ep ta b le ?
Arguments for ca p ital p unis h m e n t
Arguments aga in s t ca p ital pu nishm e n t
The future of c apital p u nishm ent in B rita in
Should capital punishment b e r e-in tro d u ced?
Alternatives to capita l pu n ish ment
L ife ithg u t ! "L# le
$ea th v ersus deterrence
% a d o r bad?
"ital punishment and the media
&ain and s uffering - i s the deat h p e na lty -a cr u el
and unusual punishment?
Can c a pital punishment ev er b e h um a ne?
"#nc' -us io n s
Bac(ground. .
Capital punishment is the laful infliction of death as a punishment and since ancient times it has been used for a
ide variety of offences. The Bible prescribes death for-murder and many other crimes including (idnapping and
itchcraft) By *+,, in -ngland. only ma/or felonies carried the death penalty - treason. murder. larceny. burglary.
rape. and arson. 0rom *123. under the 45altham Blac( Acts4. &arliament enacted many ne capital offences and
this led to an increase in the number of people being put to death each year. In the *,$ years from *16, - *738
there ere a total of up to 71+3 civilian e9ecutions in -ngland : 5ales. the pea( year as *17+ ith 3,1.
!emember that the population in *7,, as /ust 8 million.
!eform of the death penalty began in -urope by the *1+,'s and as championed by academics such as the
Italian /urist. Cesare Beccaria. the 0rench philosopher. ;oltaire. and the -nglish la reformers. <eremy Bentham
and Samuel !omilly They argued that the death penalty as needlessly cruel. over-rated as a deterrent and
occasionally imposed in fatal error. Along ith #ua(er leaders and other social reformers. they=defended life
imprisonment as a more rational alternative.
By the *7+,'s. these reform efforts began to bear fruit. ;ene>uela ?*7+3@ and &ortugal ?*7A1@ere the first
nations to abolish the death penalty altogether In the Bnited States. %ichigan as the first state to abolish it for
. murder in *761. Today. it is virtually abolished in all of 5estern -urope and most of Latin America
Britain effectively abolished capital punishment in *8A+ ?for the full story of abolition c li c ( h e re @.
The BSA. together ith China. <apan and many Asian and %iddle -astern countries. plus some African states still
retain the death penalty for certain crimes and impose it ith varying freCuency. Clic( herefor a detailed list of
abolishionist and retentionist countries.
Is capital punishment ethically acceptable? D
The state clearly has no absolute right to put its sub/ects to death although. of course. almost all countries do so in
some form or other ?but not necessarily by some conventional form of capital punishment@. In most countries. it is
by arming their police forces and accepting the fact that people ill from time to time be shot as a result and
therefore at the state's behest. .
A ma/ority of a state's sub/ects may ish to confer the right to put certain classes of criminal to death through
referendum or voting in state elections for candidates favouring capital punishment. %a/ority opinion in some
democratic countries. including the B.E. is still in favour of the death penalty.
It is reasonable to assume that if a ma/ority is in favour of a particular thing in a democracy. their ishes should be
seriously considered ith eCual consideration given to the donside of their vies.
A fact that is conveniently overloo(ed by anti-capital punishment campaigners is that e are all ultimately going to
die. In many cases. e ill (no of this in advance and suffer great pain and emotional anguish in the process.
This is particularly true of those diagnosed as having terminal cancer It is apparently acceptable to be 4sentenced
to death4 by one's family doctor ithout having committed any crime at all but totally unacceptable to be
sentenced to death by a /udge having been convicted of murder or drug traffic(ing Fthe crimes for hich the
ma/ority of e9ecutions orldide are carried outG after a fair and careful-trial
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Arguments for and against capital punishment
Let us e9amine the merits of both the pro and anti arguments.
Page 2 of 1 $
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Capita
l
punis
hment
perma
nently
remov
es the
orst
crimin
als
from
societ
y and
shoul
d
prove much cheaper and
safer for the rest of us than long term or permanent
incarceration. It is self evident that dead criminals cannot
commit any further crimes. either ithin prison or after
escaping or being released from it.
Cost.
%oney is not an ine9haustible commodity and the state may
very ell better spend our ?limited@ resources on the
old. the young and the sic( etc.. rather than on the long term
imprisonment of murderers. rapists. etc.
Anti-capital punishment campaigners in the B.S. cite the
higher cost of e9ecuting someone over life in prison. but
this ?hilst true for America@ has to do ith the endless
appeals and delays in carrying out death sentences that
are alloed under the B.S. legal system here the average
time spent on death ro is over ** years. In Britain in
the 2,th century. the average time in the. condemned cell
as from 3 to 7 ee(s and there as only one appeal
!etribution.
-9ecution is a very real punishment rather than some form of
4rehabilitative4 treatment. the criminal is made to
suffer in proportion to the offence. Although hether there is a
place in a modern society for the old fashioned
principal of 4le9 talens4 ?an eye for an eye@. is a matter of
personal opinion. !etribution is seen by many as an
acceptable reason for the death penalty according to my survey
results.
$eterrence.
$oes the death penalty deter? It is hard to prove one ay or
the other because in most retentionist countries the
number of people actually e9ecuted per year ?as compared
to those sentenced to death@ is usually a very small
proportion. It ould. hoever. seem that in those countries
?e.g. Singapore@ hich almost alays carry out death
sentences. there is far less serious crime. This tends to
indicate that the death penalty is a deterrent. but only
here e9ecution is an absolute certainty. The death penalty
is much more li(ely to be a deterrent here the crime
reCuires planning and the potential criminal has time to thin(
about the possible conseCuences. 5here the crime
is committed in the heat of the moment there is no li(elihood
that any punishment ill act as a deterrent. There is
a strong argument here for ma(ing murder committed in
these-circumstances not punishable by death.
Anti-death penalty campaigners alays argue that-death-
is nora deterrent and.usually site studies based upon
American states to prove their point. This is. in my vie.
flaed-and probably chosen to be deliberately
misleading. Let us e9amine the situation in 3 countries.
Britain.
The rates for unlaful (illings in Britain have morehan
doubled since abolition of capital punishment in *8A6 from
,.A7 per *,,H,,, of the population to * .62 per *,,.,,,.
Iome Jffice figures sho around unlaful (illings 3,, in
*8A6. hich rose to +A+ in *886 and 733 in 2,,6 .. The
figure for homicides in 2,,1 as 136. The principal
causes of homicide are fights i"volving fists and feet. stabbing a"d
cutting by.glass or a. bro(en bottle. shooting !"
1
%
and stranglmg. 12K of the victims ere male 5ith young men
beinC most at fis(. Convictions for the actual crime T&
of murder ?as against manslaughter and other unlaful (illings@
have also been rising ine9orably Beteen *8,L
'
and *8A+ they ran at an average of 28 per year. There ere +1 in
*8A+ - the first year of abolition. Ten years
later the total for the year as *,1 hich rose to *13 by *87+
and 2*6 in *88+. There have been 1* murders
committed by people ho have been released after serving
4life sentences4 in the period beteen *8A+ and *887
according to Iome Jffice statistics. Some A.3,, people are
currently serving sentences of 4life in prison4 for
murder.
Statistics ere (ept for the + years that capital punishment
as suspended in Britain ?*8A+-*8A8@ and these
shoed a *2+K rise in murders that ould have attracted a
death sentence. 5hilst statistically all this is true. it
does not tell one ho society has changed over nearly 6,
years. It may ell be that the murder rate ould be the
same today if e had retained and continued to use the
death penalty. It is impossible to say that only this one
factor affects the murder rate. -asier divorce has greatly
reduced the number of domestic murders. unavailability
of
poisons
has
seen
poisonin
g
become
almost
e9tinct
hilst
tight
gun
control
had
begun
to
reduce
the
number
of
shooting
s.
hoever
. drug
related
gun
crime is
on the
increase
and
there
have
been a
spate of
child
murders
recently.
Stabbin
gs have
increase
d
dramati
cally as
have
the
(ic(ing
and
beating
to death
of
people
ho
have
done
somethi
ng as
minor
as
arguing
ith
someon
e or
/ostling
them in
a crod.
i.e.
vicious
and
virtually
motivele
ss
(illings.
As in
most
5estern
countrie
s.
greatly
improve
d
medical
techniCu
es have
saved
many
victims ho ould
have previously died from their in/uries. Careful analysis of
the situation in Britain beteen *8,, and the outbrea(
of the second 5orld 5ar in *838 seems to point to the death
penalty being a strong deterrent to hat one might
call criminal murders. i.e those committed in the furtherance
of theft. but a very poor deterrent to domestic
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Arguments for and against capital punishment
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murders.
i.e. those
committed
in the heat
of the
moment. A
very large
proportion
of the
victims of
those
hanged
during this
period
ere
ives and
girlfriends.
ith a
small
number of
husbands
and
boyfriends
. So here
a crime
as
thought
about in
advance
the
criminal
had time
to
consider
the
conseCue
nces of
their
action and
plan
differently.
0or
instance
they may
decide to
rob a ban(
at the
ee(end
to avoid
coming
into
contact
ith the
staff
and to do
so ithout
carrying
firearms
America.
In
most
state
s.
other
than
Te9a
s.
the
num
ber
of
e9ec
ution
s as
com
pare
d to
deat
h
sent
ence
s and murders is
infinitesimally small. Jf the *,88 e9ecutions
carried out in the hole of the BSA from *811 to
the end of 2,,1.
Te9as accounts for 6,A or 31K.
Interestingly. the murder rate in the BS. dropped
from 26.+A2 in *883 to *7.2,8 in *881. the loest
for years ?a
2AK reduction@ - during a period of increased use of
the death penalty. 3** ?A2K@ of the +,, e9ecutions
have
been carried out in this period. The number of
murders in 2,,3 as about *+.A,,.
America still had + times as many murders per head of
population as did Britain in *881 hilst Singapore had
*+
times feer murders per head of population than Britain.
Io can one account for this? There are obvious
cultural
differences beteen the 3 countries although all are
modern and prosperous.
It is dangerously simplistic to say that the rise in
e9ecutions is the only factor in the reduction of
homicides in
America. There has been a general trend to a more
punitive society. ?e.g. the 4three stri(es and your out4
la@
over this period and cities such as Le Mor( claim
great success in reducing crime rates through the use
of 4>ero
tolerance4 policing policies. But otherise. there has
been political and economic stability over the period
and no
obvious social changes. Improvements in medical
techniCues have also saved many potential deaths.
;arious
recent academic studies in the BSA have shon that
capital punishment is a deterrent there. 0or details of
these
go to
http )NN .cilf .orgNdeathpenaltyN$&$eterrence.htm
Te9as.
As stated above. Te9as carries out far more e9ecutions
than any other American state ?beteen *872 and
2,,1 it
e9ecuted 6,6 men and2 omen@ and there is no
clear evidence of a deterrent effect. %y friend !ob
Oallagher
?author of Before the Leedles ebsite@ has done an
analysis of the situation using official 0BI homicide
figures.
Beteen *87, and 2,,,. there ere 6*.173 murders
in Te9as
In *87, alone. 2.382 people died by homicide. giving it a
murder rate of *A.77 for every *,,.,,, of the population.
?The BS. average murder rate in *87, as *,.22. falling
to +.+* per roo*ooo by the year 2,,,. Jver the same
period. Te9as had a population increase of 32K. up
A.A.7*.88* from *6.*A8.72.8"to-2,.7+*.72,. There ere
only
*.237 murders in 2,,, giving it a rate of +.86. /ust
slightly higher than the national rate hich had dropped
to
+.+*N*,,.,,, In the base year ?*87,@. there as one
murder for every +.826 Te9ans. By the year 2,,,. this
had
fallen to one murder for every *A.763 people or 3+.2K of
the *87, value. If the *87, murder rate had been
alloed to maintain. there ould have been. by
interpolation. a total of A*.1+* murders. Jn this basis.
*8.8A7
people are not dead today ho ould have potentially
been homicide victims. representing 17 lives saved for
each
one of the 2+A e9ecutions. The overall B.S. murder rate
declined by +6K during the period. Therefore. to
achieve
a reasonable estimate of actual lives saved. e must
multiply *8.8A7 by ,.+6 giving a more realistic figure of
*,.173 lives saved or 62 lives per e9ecution. -ven if this
estimate as off by a factor of *, ?hich is highly
.. unli(ely@. there ould still be over *.,,, innocent
lives saved or 6 lives per e9ecution. Jne can see a
drop in the
numb
er of
murde
rs in
*873.
the
year
after
Charli
e
Broo(
s
becam
e the
first
perso
n to
be
e9ecut
ed by
lethal
in/ection in
America
D .
In 2,,,.
Te9as
had
*.237
murders
?an
average
of 23.7
murders
per
ee(@.
but in
2,,*
only 3*
people
ere
given
the death
sentence
and *1
prisoners
e9ecuted
?don
from 6,
the
previous
year@.
This
eCuates
to a
capital
sentenci
ng rate of
2.+K or
one
death
sentence
for every
6,
murders.
Singapore
Singap
ore
alays
carries
out
death
senten
ces
here
the
appeal
has
been
turned
don.
so its
populat
ion
(nos
precisely hat ill happen to them if they are
convicted of murder or drug traffic(ing - is this
concept deeply
embedded into the sub-consciousness of most of its
people. acting as an effective deterrent?
In *88+. Singapore hanged an unusually large
number of 1 murderers ith 6 in *88A. 3 in *881 and
only one in
*887 rising to A in *888 ?3 for the same murder@.
Singapore ta(es an eCually hard line on all other
forms of crime
ith stiff on the spot fines for trivial offences such as
dropping litter and cheing gum in the street. caning
for
males beteen *7 and +, for a ide variety of
offences. and rigorous imprisonment for all serious
crimes.
Arguments against the death penalty.
There are a number of incontrovertible arguments
against the death penalty.
The most important one is the virtual certainty that
genuinely innocent people ill be e9ecuted and that
there is no
possible ay of compensating them for this
miscarriage of /ustice. There is also another significant
but much less
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realised
danger
here. The
person
convicted
of the
murder
may have
actually
(illed the
victim and
may even
admit
having
done so
but does
not agree
that the
(illing as
murder.
Jften the
only
people
ho (no
hat really
happened
are the
accused
and the
deceased.
It then
comes
don to
the s(ill of
the
prosecutio
n and
defence
layers as
to hether
there ill
be a
conviction
for murder
or for
manslaugh
ter. It is
thus highly
probable
that
people are
convicted
of murder
hen they
should
really have
only been
convicted
of
manslaugh
ter. Iave a
loo( at
the cases
of < a m e s
%cLicol
and -dith
Thomp s on
and see
hat you
thin(.
A second
reason. that
is often
overloo(ed.
is the hell
the
innocent
family and
friends of
criminals
must also
go
through in the time leading up to and during the
e9ecution and hich ill often cause them serious
trauma for
years afterards. It is often very difficult for people to
come to terms ith the fact that their loved one could
be
guilty of a serious crime and no doubt even more
difficult to come to terms ith their death in this form.
Ioever
strongly you may support capital punishment. to
rongs de not ma(e one right. Jne cannot and
should not deny
the suffering of the victim's family in a murder case
but the suffering of the murderer's family is surely
valid too.
There must alays be the concern that the state can
administer the death penalty /ustly. most countries
have a
very poor record on this. In America. a prisoner canoe
on death ro for many years ?on average ** years
F2,,6
figureG@ aaiting the outcome of numerous appeals
and their chances of escaping e9ecution are better if
they are
ealthy andNor hite rather than poor andNor blac(
irrespective of the actual crimes they have committed
hich
may have been largely forgotten by the time the final
decision is ta(en. Although racism is claimed in the
administration of the death penalty in America)
statistics sho that hite prisoners are more liable to
be sentenced
to death on conviction for first degree murder and are also
less li(ely to have their sentences commuted than ..
N')-'"*
blac( defendants. )"
It must be remembered that criminals are real
people too ho have life and ith it the capacity to
feel pain. fear
and the loss of their loved ones. and all the other
emotions that the rest of us are capable of feeling. It
is easier to
put this thought on one side hen discussing the
most aful multiple murderers but less so hen
discussing. say.
an *7 year old girl convicted of drug traffic(ing.
?Singapore hanged to Cirlsfor this crime in *88+
ho ere both
only *7 at the time of their offences and China shot
an *7 year old girl for the same offence in *887.@
There is no such thing as a humane method of
putting a person to death irrespective of hat the
State may claim
?see later@. -very form of e9ecution causes the
prisoner suffering. some methods perhaps cause
less than others.
but be in no doubt-that being e9ecuted is a terlify)ng
and Cruesomeo.oeal for rue criminal. 5hat is also
often
overloo(ed is the e9treme mental torture thatthe
criminal suffers in the time lea-iin"-up to the
e9ecution. Io
ould you feel (noing that you ere CoinC-todie
tomorro morning at 7.,, a.rn.?
There may be a brutalising effect upon society by
carrying out e9ecutions - this as apparent in this
country during
the *1th and *7th centuries hen people turned out
to en/oy the spectacle of public hanging. They still do
today in
those countries here e9ecutions are carried out
irltpublic. It is hard to prove this one ay or the other
- people
stop and loo( at car crashes but it doesn't ma(e them
go and have an accident to see hat it is li(e. It
ould
seem that there is a natural voyeurism in most
people.
The death penalty is the bluntest of 4blunt instruments.4 it
removes the individual's humanity and ith it any'
f).""<@
chance of rehabilitation and their giving something bac( to
society. In the
case of the
orst criminals.
this may b.
acceptable but
is more
Cuestionable in
the case of less
aful crimes.
5ill Britain
restore capital
punishment in
the future?
%y
2,,+
survey
of
***7
respo
ndent
s
shos
that
AA+K
of the
popul
ation
?to
out of
three
peopl
e@
ould
li(e
capital
punish
ment
reinst
ated.
Suppo
rt for
the
death
penalt
y in
Britain
seems
to be
steady
and it
is
strong
ly
suppo
rted
by
young
peopl
e too.
In the
short
term
?say
the
ne9t
*,
years@
. there
is no
realisti
c
chanc
e of
reinst
ateme
nt.
hoev
er.
despit
e
ma/ori
ty
public
suppo
rt for such a move !eintroduction of something
that has
been abolished is alays much more difficult
than introducing something entirely ne.
Successive free votes on the issue in the Iouse of
Commons during the *87,'s failed to get anyhere
near a
ma/ority for restoration. &olitically it ould be
impossible no. given our membership of the -B
and our
commitment to -uropean Convention on Iuman
!ights. both of hich are totally against capital
punishment The
-B contains no member states that practice it and
ill not allo retentionist states to /oin. The present
Labour
government is implacably opposed to capital
punishment and has removed it from the statute
boo( for the fe
remaining offences for hich it as still theoretically
alloed The Conservative party seems to be split on
the
issue. but the official party line is against
reintroduction. The Liberal $emocrats are firmly
against. There is no
doubt that capital punishment is a very emotive
issue but there is a strong anti-death penalty lobby
in this country
ho ould put every obstacle in the ay of its
return should it ever become li(ely.
There is concern at the number of convictions that are
being declared unsafe by the Courts. particularly for the
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Arguments for and against capital punishment Page - of 11
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ed up ith escalating levels 'of crime andhat
they see in. most cases. as derisory
punishments that they ill support anything that
appears li(ely to reduce crime and redress the
balance? Jr do
they see the return of capital punishment as a
return to barbarity?
Should capital punishment be re-introduced in
Britain?
There are very real issues of human rights that ill
effect us all if it ere to be reintroduced.
5ill the government introduce las that are /ust and
contain sufficient safeguards and ill the /udiciary
administer
them properly?
5e are all potentially capable of murder ?a lot of
domestic murders. here one partner murders the
other during a
ro. are first time crimes@ and. therefore. e must
each consider hether e and our loved ones are
more at ris(
of being murdered or being e9ecuted for committing
murder.
5e must also consider hat the li(elihood is of
innocent people being e9ecuted - it is inevitable that
it ill happen
sooner or later.
Can the police. the courts. and the system
generally be trusted to get things right on every
occasion? They never
.'H'. have been able to previously.
4 ..
&1
5ill /uries be illing to convict in capital cases?
5ould you li(e to have to ma(e the decision as
to hether the
person in the doc( should live or die?
5ill the government really be illing to carry out
death sentences or ill they find every e9cuse for
not doing so.
thus returning to the in/ustices of earlier
centuries?
5ill e9ecutions really prove to be the deterrent that
the supporters of capital punishment e9pect them to
be? This
is a very important point as it is alays put forard
by the pro-capital punishment lobby as the principal
benefit
from reintroduction. It is unli(ely the very orst
murderers ould be deterred because they are
typically
psychopaths or of such dubious sanity that they art-
incapable of rational.behaviour ?sometimes ta(ing
their on-
lives immediately after the crime. as in the
Iungerford -and-$unbtane massacres@ Certain
criminals. e.C. drug
traffic(ers. may be deterred because they have
.a.clear option ith defined ris(s but ould the
person ho has a
violent argument ith their partner give a second
thought to hat ill happen to them hen in the
heat of the
moment they pic( up the carvinC (nife?
It is unli(ely that a handful of e9ecutions a. year ill
have any real deterrent effect particularly on the
people hom
society ould most li(e to be deterred. e.C. serial
(illers. multiple rapists and drugs barons. Met these
particular
criminals are the least li(ely to be e9ecuted. the
serial (illers ill be found insane and the drug
barons ill use any
means to avoid conviction. e.C. intimidation of
itnesses. So e go bac( to the .situation here
only 4sane4
murderers can be e9ecuted. Thus a modern day
!uth -llis might also hang because she as sane.
hilst
Beverley Allitt. ho murdered 6 small children.
ould be reprieved because she has %unchausen's
Syndrome by
&ro9y or so she and certain psychiatrists claim.'
C
an
th
es
e
sc
en
ari
os
ev
er
be
se
en
as
/u
sti
ce
?
S
h
o
u
l
d

e
o
n
l
y
e
9
e
c
u
t
e
p
e
o
p
l
e
f
o
r
t
h
e
m
o
s
t
a

f
u
l
m
u
lt
i
p
l
e
m
u
r
d
e
r
s
a
s
a
f
o
r
m

o
f
c
o
m
pulsory euthanasia rather
than as a punishment or should e e9ecute all
murderers irrespective of the degree of guilt purely
as a retributive
punishment for ta(ing another person's life and in
the hope of deterring others?
5hat about crimes such as violent rape. terrorism
and drug traffic(ingP are these as bad as murder?
Io should
e punish such offences?
Should e9ecutions be carried out in such a ay
as to punish the criminal and have ma9imum
deterrent effect on
the rest of us. ?eg. televised hangings@. 5ould
this be a deterrent or merely become a morbid
sho for the
voyeuristic?
Jr should they be little more than a form of
euthanasia carried out in such a ay as to remove
from the criminal all
physical and as much emotional suffering as
possible?
$oes it ma(e any sense to imprison someone for
the rest of their life or is it really more cruel than
e9ecuting them.
particularly if they are young?
If e do not (eep them in prison for life. ill
they come out only to commit other dreadful
crimes? A small but
significant number do.
5hat is the cost to society of (eeping people in
prison? ?Q1,,.,, per ee( at present for an
ordinary prisoner
mhtml,ile:lI(:\S42009\Argum
ents for and against capital
punishmentmht
Arguments for and against capital punis$ent
hich is around Q++,.,,, for a typical life sentence for murder ith a minimum tariff of *+ years@.
Page . of 11
T
h
e
s
e
C
u
e
st
io
n
s
n
e
e
d
to
b
e
th
o
u
g
ht
a
b
o
ut
c
ar
ef
ul
ly
a
n
d
a
b
al
a
n
c
e
d
o
pi
ni
o
n
ar
ri
v
e
d
at
.
I
o

d
o
y
o
u
fe
el
a
b
o
ut
th
e
m
?
If
y
o
u
i
s
h
to
s
hare your thoughts ith me send me an email ?&lease include your name and age@
If the general conclusion is that capital punishment is desirable. then the first step toard restoration is for the
Oovernment to present a fully thought out set of proposals that can be put to the people in a referendum
stating
precisely hat offences should carry the death penalty. ho it should be carried out. etc.. and hat effect on
crime
is e9pected to follo from reintroduction.
If such a referendum produced a clear yes vote. the Oovernment ould have a genuine mandate to proceed
upon
and could claim the support of the people. Brns substantially reducing the influence of the anti-capital
punishment
lobby. There should be another referendum about - years later so that the effects of reintroduction could be
revieed and voted on again. !eferenda have the advantage of involving the public in the decision ma(ing
process and raising aareness through the media of the issues for and against the proposed changes.
The alternatives.
5hat are the realistic alternatives to the death penalty?
PAny punishment must be fair. /ust. adeCuate and most of all. .""forceable. Society still vies murder as a.44
particularly heinous crime hich should be met ith the most severe punishment. 5hole life imprisonment could
fit- . .@@
the bill for the orst murders ith suitable gradations for less aful murders. Some 66 people are serving hole r
life tariffs in the BE. -
.
I am personally against the mandatory life sentence for murder as it fails. in my vie. to distinguish beteen
really
dreadful crimes and those crimes hich. hilst still homicide. are much more understandable to the rest of
us.
Therefore. it is clearly necessary to give /uries the option of finding the prisoner guilty but in a loer degree of
murder. and to give /udges the ability to pass sensible. determinate sentences based upon the facts of the
crime
as presented to the court. '
Imprisonment. hilst e9pensive and largely pointless. e9cept as means of removing criminals from society
for a
-giveLl-period."+-at least enforceable upon anyone ho commits murder ?over the age of *, years.
Ioever. it
appears to many people to-be a soft option and this perception needs to be corrected.
In modern times. e repeatedly see murderers being able to 4get off' on the grounds of diminished
responsibility
and their alleged psychiatric disorders or by using devices such as plea bargaining. This tends to remove
peoples'
faith in /ustice hich is very dangerous.
t
Are there any other real. socially acceptable. options for dealing ith murderers? Jne possible solution ?that
ould enrage the civil liberties groups@ ould be to have everyone's $LA profile data-based at birth ?not beyond
.. " ==
the it of modern computer systems@. thus ma(ing detection of many murders and se9 crimes much easier. If
thisNN<$
as done and generally accepted as the main plan( of evidence agamst an accused person and a SBitable.
'i -
determinate sentence of imprisonment passed. involvinC a sensible regime combining both punishment and
treatment. it ould I am sure. considerably reduce the incidence of the most serious and most feared
crimes. The
reason for this is that for most people. being caught is a far greater deterrent than some possible. probably
misunderstood punishment. e.g. 4life imprisonment.4 Surely this has to be better than the arbitrary ta(ing of
the
lives of a tiny minority of offenders ?as happens in most countries that retain the death penalty@ ith all the
unanted side effects that this has on their families and on the rest of society. It is clear that certainty of being
caught is a very good deterrent - /ust loo( at ho people observe speed limits hen they see signs for speed
cameras and yet brea( the speed limit as soon as the ris( is passed.
4Life ithout parole4 versus the death penalty.
%any opponents of capital punishment put forard life in prison ithout parole as a viable alternative to
e9ecution
for the orst offenders. and surveys in America have shon that life ithout parole ?L5J&@ en/oys
considerable
support amongst those ho ould otherise favour the death penalty
Ioever. there are drabac(s to this)
It is argued by some that L5J& is in fact a far more cruel punishment that death. This proposition as put
forard in a parliamentary debate by the philosopher <ohn Stuart %ill in the *8th century. It is interesting to
note
mhtml:file:lI(:\S42009\Arguments for and against capital punishmentrnht 11/7/200
8
Arguments for and against capital punishment
Page " of 11
that no less
than 3**
prisoners
serving life
sentences in
Italy
petitioned
their
government
in 2,,1 for
the right to be
e9ecuted.
They cited
L5J& as a
living death
here they
died a little
every day. In
the BSA. as
of <anuary
2,,7.
there are
over 2.2,,
people
serving hole
life sentences
ho ere
und e r *7 at
the time they
committed
the crime.
as BS la no
longer
permits the
e9ecution of
minors. Jne
might be
forgiven for
as(ing hat
is the point of
loc(ing
a person up
to the day
they die and
one might
onder if it is
indeed a far
orse
punishment
than death.
$eath
clearly
permanently
incapacitate
s the
criminal and
prevents
them
committing
any other
offence.
L5J&
cannot
prevent or
deter
offenders
from (illing
prison staff
or other
inmates or
ta(ing
hostages to
further an
escape
bid - they
have
nothing
further to
lose by
doing so.
Ioever good the security of a prison. someone ill
alays try to escape and occasionally ill be
successful. If
you have endless time to plan an escape and
everything to gain from doing so. it is a very strong
incentive.
5e have no guarantee that future governments ill not
release offenders. ho ere imprisoned years
previously.
on the recommendations of various professional 4do-
gooders4 ho are against any punishment in the first
place.
Tenty or thirty years on it is very difficult to remember
the afulness of an individual's crime and easy to claim
that they have reformed.
%yra Iindley is a prime e9ample of this phenomenon -
hilst I am illing to believe that she changed as a
person
during her 31 years in prison and probably did not
present any serious ris( of re-offending. one has
absolutely no
guarantee of this and it does not obviate her
responsibility-for her crimes. 0ortunately. she died of
natural causes
before she could obtain the parole hich I am sure
she ould have eventually been granted.
The Lumbers Oame 4death versus deterrence4.
If e are. hoever. really serious in our desire to
reduce crime through harsher punishments alone. e
must be
prepared to e9ecute every criminal ho commits a
capital crime irrespective of their se9. age ?above the
legal
minimum@ alleged mental state or bac(ground.
$efences to capital charges must be limited by statute
to those
hich are reasonable. Appeals must be similarly limited
and there can be no reprieves 5e must carry out
e9ecutions ithout delay and ith sufficient publicity to
get the message across to other similarly minded
people.
This is similar to the situation hich obtains in China
and ould. if applied in Britain. undoubtedly lead to a
large
number of e9ecutions to begin ith until the message
got through. I ould estimate at least 2.,,, or so in the
first
year if it ere applied for murder. aggravated rape
anddruC traffic(ing. This amounts to more than "
e9ecutions.
every day of the year %onday through.0<iaa y .P"PP
Are e. as a modern estern society. illing to do this
or ould e shy aay from it and return to /ust carrying
out
the occasional e9ecution to sho that e still can
ithout any regard for natural /ustice? These events ill
be
sei>ed upon by the media and turned into a morbid
soap opera en/oyed by a ?large?@ proportion of the
population.
?Lote the popularity in the American media of capital
murder trials there.@ It is doubtful hether e9ecutions
carried
out on this basis ill deter others from committing
crimes.
0or capital punishment to really reduce crime.
everyone of us must realise that e ill
personally and ithout
doubt be put to death if e commit particular
crimes and that there can be absolutely no hope
of reprieve.
Jne onders if as many people ould be illing to
vote for this scenario in a referendum hen they
realised the
full conseCuences of their action.
I have no doubt that if e ere to declare ar on
criminals in this fashion. e ould see a rapid decline
in serious
crime but at hat cost in human terms? There ill be' a
lot of innocent victims - principally the families of those
.e9ecuted.
4%ad or
Bad4.
Are
criminals
?particularly
murderers
as e are
discussing
capital
punishment
@ evil or
sic(? This
is another
very
important
issue as it
ould
seem
hardly
reasonable
to punish
people ho
are
genuinely
mentally ill
but more
reasonable
to use
effective
punishment
against
those ho
are
intentionally
evil. As
usual. as a
society. e
have
very
confused
vies on
this issue -
thereare
those.
notably
some social
or(ers
and
psychiatrist
s. ho
seem to
believe that
there is no
such thing
as evil
hilst the
ma/ority of
us do not
accept that
every
accused
person
should
be let off,
?i.e.
e9cused
any
responsibilit
y for their
actions@
due to
some
alleged
mental or
emotional
condition.
5ill
advances
in mapping
the human
genome
over the
ne9t couple of decades allo us to predict those
people ho
are prone to committing violent and murderous crimes
and so prevent them before they happen?
It ould seem that hilst legally and technically 4sane4
many criminals are in some ay abnormal and their
thought processes are not li(e those of the rest of us
!uth -llis as. in my view, a perfect case in point. She
lived
at a time hen the death penalty as mandatory for
murder and as (non to be in favour of it herself.
She had
to small children and yet neither factor stopped her
committing a murder hich she made no attempt to
escape
from or deny responsibility for. and for hich she (ne
that she ould probably be hanged 5e can only
mhtml:file:lI(:\S42009\Argume
nts for and against capital
punishmentmht
Arguments for and against capital punislunent Page # of II
con/ectu
re hy
she did
murder
$avid
Bla(ely.
the man
she
loved at
all. and
particula
rly in the
ay she
did
hich
as
much
more
li(ely to
result in
her
e9ecutio
n. Iome
Jffice
psychiatr
ists ho
e9amine
d her in
the
condem
ned
cell
found
her to be
sane
accordin
g to their
definition
. and I
have no
doubt
that e
ould
also
have
consider
ed her
to be
sane if
e had
intervie
ed her -
but she
as
obviousl
y not
4normal.
4 0or a
detailed
account
of her
case
and
subseCu
ent
appeal
Clic(
h e re .
In
America
the
/udicial
system
seems.
on the
hole.
less
concern
ed
about the mental state of condemned
prisoners and are illing to e9ecute them as the
case of the child (iller. 5estley Alan $odd. ho as
clearly very
abnormal indeed. There are many other cases to
choose from here the defendant's deeds are not
those of a
normal person. The typical psychopath is often a
person of above average intelligence but is
presently incurable
and ill continue to present a severe ris( to society.
5ill e ever find an anser to the 4mad or bad4
Cuestion and be able to find effective treatment for
those ho turn
out to be 4mad?4 Should e orry about the alleged
mental state of our orst criminals? These are the
people
ho are least li(ely to benefit from imprisonment or
care in institutions ?or orse still the community@ and
are most
li(ely to re-offend. It could. therefore. be argued that
(illing these people ould be a very good thing.
Capital punishment and the media.
Three hundred years ago there as no media.
Lespapers first started in -ngland around *12+ and
ere
. e9pensive and of very limited circulation. In any case fe
people could read at that time. So public e9ecutions
ere vital to sho that /ustice had been done and provide
a deterrent to others. In particularly heinous cases of
murder the e9ecution could be carried out near the scene
of the crime so that the local people could see the
murderer punished. or the criminal could be gibbeted
near the scene to remind people of the punishment. By
*7,, nespapers ere more idespread and public
e9ecution as abolished in -ngland. Scotland and 5ales
in
*7A7. !eporters ere still alloed to itness some
e9ecutions for some years afterards. but by the 2,th
century. typically nespapers ould merely state that so
and so as e9ecuted yesterday for the murder of ... at
such and such prison. Lo details of the e9ecution
ere made available and so the story ould be to
paragraphs
unless there as some special feature such asa
protest outside the prison. !adio and later television
nes
ould also carry a similar brief report.
In the BSA reporters are alays permitted to attend
e9ecutions and they receive a lot of coverage at
state level.
Ioever the media's attitude to e9ecutions varies
idely depending on the aCe.and se9 of the criminal.
the type of
crime and method of e9ecution
'.
.
%iddle aged men being e9ecuted by lethal in/ection
in say Te9as for 4ordinary4 murders hardly rate a
paragraph in
the press of other states. noadays and do not get
a mention in the B.E. media at all. But. a oman
convicted of
double murder and being in/ected on the same
gurney gets tremendous orldide media attention
at all levels
?Earla 0a y e Tuc(er @. -Cually. a man being hanged
in 5ashington or $elaare or shot by a Btah firing
sCuad
ma(es international nes ?5estley Allan $odd. Billy
Bailey and <ohn Taylor@. And yet ?non hite@ omen
being
hanged in <ordan and Singapore. the large number
of people publicly beheaded in Saudi Arabia and
men and
omen e9ecuted by the hundred in China ma(e
very little nes. Ioever. hen a hite oman is
hanged in
Africa. ?%ariette Bosch in Botsa. na@ this is considered
nesorthy by the British press. The BE broadsheets
ran).?"4
large articles ith photos of her. H4"rRS
5hy is this? Is it a form of racism or do e not care if the
e9ecution
ta(es place-in
a %iddle
-astern or 0ar
-aste
.
Country
? Are
their
criminals
someho

perceive
d as
lesser
people
ith less
rights?
The
media
obviousl
y does
not
/udge
many of
these
stories
to be
nesor
thy
although
they are
aare of
them
through
the nes
ires
from
those
countrie
s ?hich
is ho I
(no
about
them@ In
Singapor
e hen
e9ecutio
ns ere
reported.
they
typically
only
m
a
d
e

a

s
m
a
l
l
a
r
t
i
c
l
e

a
n
d

a
r
o
u
s
e
d
very little public interest %ost
Singaporeans. hoever. firmly support the
government hard line on crime and
punishment
$uring the late 1,'s and early 7,'s hen e9ecutions
ere rare in America. every e9ecution by hatever
means.
attracted a great deal of media interest and yet no
they are more freCuent ?normally averaging over
one per
ee(@. the authorities seem to have difficulty in
finding sufficient official and media itnesses. They
also used to
attract pro and anti-capital punishment protesters in
large numbers. but these seem to have dindled
don to /ust
a fe in most cases.
I tend to thin( that if e9ecutions ere televised.
they ould soon reach the same level of dis-
interest amongst the
general public unless it fitted into a 4special
category.4 ie. a first by this or that method or a
particularly interesting
criminal. .
In Euait criminals have been hanged in the yard
of Layef &alace and once the prisoners are
suspended the
press and the public are alloed in to vie the
hanging bodies &hotography is also alloed and
photographs of
the e9ecutions appear in the Euaiti media Jne
onders hat the deterrent effect of this. Iave a
loo( at the
mhtml:file:lI(:\S42009\Arguments
for and against capital
punishmentrnht
Arguments for and against capital punishment
article on Eu a it to learn more.
Page 9 of l l
Is
m
ed
ia
co
ve
ra
ge
of
e9
ec
uti
on
s
/u
st
a
m
or
bi
d
si
de
sh
o

for
so
m
e
pe
op
le.

ho
de
pri
ve
d
of
pu
bli
c
ha
ng
in
gs
.
et
c..
la
p
up
ev
er
y
de
tai
l
th
e
m
ed
ia
ha
s
to
off
er

hil
st
th
e
m
a/
ori
ty
ig
no
re
the not very interesting criminals ho are
e9ecuted by lethal in/ection?
.
Lethal in/ection. as my on survey has shon. is
perceived by most respondents as the least cruel
method -
probably because it is the least gruesome method.
The less the public interest. the easier the process
becomes -
a state of affairs that suits governments of many
countries and states in America very ell. .
&robably the ma/ority of people don't much care
either ay and ould rather atch footballT They
may vaguely
support capital punishment but do not ish to be
or feel involved.
The 0uture.
I onder if in another hundred years e ill. as a
orld still have capital punishment at all or for that
matter
prisons. or hether e ill have evolved
technological means of detecting and correcting
potential criminals
before they can actually commit any crime. It seems
to me that e must first find this technology and then
educate
public opinion aay from its present obsession ith
punishment by demonstrating that the ne methods
or(.
pointing out the futility and aste of present penal
methods. especially imprisonment and e9ecution.
&unishment ill remain popular ith the general
public ?and therefore politicians@ as long as there are
no viable
-. alternatives and as long as crime continues its
presentine9orable rise. Logically. hoever.
punishment ?of any.
sort@ cannot be the future - e must progress
and therefore e ill.
Bntil this utopian point is reached. hich I believe it
ultimately ill be. I thin( that e ill see the use of
the death
penalty continuing and its reintroduction in
countries that had previously abolished it. %ost of
the Caribbean
countries are trying to get it re-introduced.
It is clear that in strict penal societies such as
Singapore. that the crime rate is much loer than in
effectively non-
penal societies such as Britain. It is. therefore.
logical to assume that Singaporean style policies
are li(ely to be
adopted by more countries as their crime rates
reach' unacceptable proportions.
I do not.believe that the.ma/orityof people ho support
capital punishment or other.severe punishments. do
so.for =.
sadistic.reasons but rather out of a feeling of
desperationthat they and their families are being
overhelmed by'
the rising tide of crime hich they perceive the
government is doing too little to protect them from I
thin( there
ould. in the long term. be sufficient support for non-
penal methods of dealing ith criminals if these ere
proved
to be effective.
A particular danger in our society is that e
continue to do little or nothing effective about
persistent /uvenile
offenders. If the death penalty ere re introduced.
e may be consigning many of these to their death
at the age
of *7. having never previously given them any
discipline hatsoever. Surely e9ecution should not
be both the first
and last taste of discipline a person gets and yet
as e allo so many youngsters to run ild and
commit ever
m
or
e
se
rio
us
cri
m
es
un
pu
ni
sh
ed
.
pu
bli
c
op
ini
on
an
d
th
us
po
liti
ca
l
e9
pe
di
en
cy
m
a(
es
it
m
or
e
an
d
m
or
e
li(
el
y.
Li
ch
ol
as
In
gr
a
m.

ho

en
t
to
th
e
el
ec
tri
c
ch
air
in
th
e
A
m
eri
ca
n
st
at
e
of
O
eorgia in *88+. is a perfect e9ample of
this phenomenon. D
5e should start by introducing stricter discipline
from 4the bottom up.4 i.e start ith unruly children
at school and
on the streets and progress through young thugs
and older thugs before e thin( about restoring
capital
punishment. This ay. e might bring up a
generation or to of disciplined people ho might
not need the threat
of e9ecution to deter them from committing the
most serious crimes.
It is noticeable that hilst Singapore retains and
uses the death penalty. it also has severe
punishments for all
other offences. including caning for many
offences committed by young men ho are
usually the most crime
prone group. Thus. Singapore provides discipline
at all levels in its society and has the sort of
crime figures that
most countries can only dream of.
&ain and suffering - is the death penalty a cruel and
unusual punishment?
The -ighth Amendment to the American
Constitution prohibits the imposition of 4cruel and
unusual punishments4
and the 4infliction of unnecessary pain in the
e9ecution of the death sentence4. 5hilst this ould
seem reasonable
it never intended this amendment to guarantee a
pain free death. 5hen the Constitution as ritten
e9ecution by
hanging as specified and at the time this meant
the short or no drop method as the concept of a
measured drop
hadn't been invented. In the Supreme Court case of
!ees v Ba>e in 2,,1. !alph Ba>e challenged the
lethal
mhtm/file:!I(:\S42009\Argum
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Arguments for and against capital punislunent
Page l0af II &
in/ection
procedure in the
state of Eentuc(y
hich as found
to be
constitutional by
the court
because it did
not
intentionally
cause pain.
-
Jbviously
one cannot
be inside
the brain of
a person
as they are
being out
to death to
(no hat.
if any. pain
they
are feeling.
All e can
do is to
observe
their
reaction to
the
process
and carry
out an
autopsy
afterards.
If for
instance in
a
measured
drop
hanging.
there is no
obvious
struggling
or
movement
after the
drop and
the
autopsy
finds that
the nec(
has been
bro(en and
the spinal
cord
severed
then it is
reasonable
to conclude
that the
person
died a pain
free death.
In lethal
in/ection if
the person
appears to
lapse into
unconsciou
sness
ithin
seconds of
the
commence
ment of the
in/ection of
the fast
acting
barbiturate
that is
normally the first chemical in/ected in the
BS e conclude the same.
It is eCually clear that hen any form of e9ecution is
bungled the prisoner often e9hibits signs of great
suffering.
The time ta(en in the actual preparations prior to
the e9ecution. ?e.C. insertion of the catheters or
the shaving of
the head and legs for electrocution@. must also
cause great emotional suffering hich again may
far outeigh the
physical pain of the actual moment of death hich
at least has an end. !emember that in 2,th
century Britain. it
too( typically around *+ seconds to carry out a
hanging. hereas it can ta(e 2, to 6+ minutes
hen ?//l goes ell
to carry out a lethal in/ection. It sometimes ta(es
much longer hen a vein cannot be found.
Ianging may cause a
degree of physical pain. but surely being e9ecuted
over a period of half an hour or more must cause
acute mental
agony.
5e "aveloo(ed at the pain "aused by e9ec"tion b"t
hat ofthe "uffering? . ?@@ .
Jne Issue rarely addressed IS the length of time
prisoners spend In the condemned cell or on death
ro In tiny ?"
cells in virtual solitary confinement prior to e9ecution
and the uncertainty of eventual e9ecution as various
stays 'c
are granted and then overturned ?particularly in America.
here it is an average of over *2 years-in 2,,A. the last
year for hich statistics are available but can sometimes
be over tenty years. as is the case in California@.
In Britain hen e had the death penalty. three
clear Sundays had to elapse beteen sentence
and e9ecution.
although this period could increase somehat if
the prisoner appealed. In the BS the person ill
have their
e9ecution date set often three months in advance
and have to deal ith the approach of it. In <apan
they are
informed ithin the last hour or so of their life so
that they.never (no hen they ill be ta(ente-the
gallos. In
my vie. the mental anguish caused by this part of
the process is a far greater cause of suffering both
to them and
their families than that caused by the physical pain
produced by the .. eventual e9ecution. This vie
as shared by
the British &rivy Council hich is still the final
appeal body for many of the Caribbean countries
and ho ruled that
if e9ecutions had not.been carried out ithin five
years.aftec.the.death sentence then the person
must be
reprieved.
Can capital punishment ever be 4humane4?
I have never personally believed that any form of
death. let alone e9ecution. is either instant or
painless. so hich
method of capital punishment should a modern
4civilised4 society use?
Should our orst criminals be given a
completely p4ainless death even if the
technology e9ists to provide one. or
should a degree of physical suffering be part of
the punishment?
5hatever method is selected should have some deterrent
value hilst not causing a deliberately slo or .. : ..
':...,t.~:)t)
agonising death. T
British style. b.8.TU8ing is an e9tremely Cuic(
process that.is designed to cause instant and
deep unconsciousness
and also benefits from reCuiring simple and
thus Cuic( preparation of the prisoner. It seems
to have substantial
deterren
t value.
Lethal
in/ection
may
appear to
be more
humane
than
other
methods
to those
ho have
to
administe
r and
itness
it. but it is
also a
very slo
process.
It is
essential
that the
catheter
actually
goes into
a vein
rather
than
through it
or round
it if the
prisoner
is to die a
pain free
death. If
it doesn't.
then the
person
may
suffer a
great
deal of
pain
but ill
be
unable to
communi
cate this
due to
the
paralysin
g effects
of the
second
drug. The
biggest
single
Jb/ection
to lethal
in/ection
is the
length of
time
reCuired
to
prepare
the
prisoner.
hich
can ta(e
from 2,
to 6+
minutes
dependin
g on the
ease of
finding a
vein to
in/ect
into.
The ili'$c:12$mh$3 seems to possess no
obvious advantage as the eCuipment is
e9pensive to buy and maintain.
the preparations are lengthy. adding to the
prisoner's agonies. and it alays causes a slo
and cruel death It is
also dangerous to the staff involved .
4l$c11tI5611',l35n can cause a Cuic( death hen
all goes ell. but seems to have a greater
number of technical
problems than any other method. often ith
the most gruesome conseCuences ?This may
in part be due to the
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71
20
08
Arguments for and against capital punislunent
age of the eCuipment - in most case 1,-8, years oldT@
Page 11 of 11
Shoot ing by
a single
bullet in the
bac( of the
head seems
greatly
preferable to
shooting by
a firing
sCuad in that
it
is li(ely to
cause
instant
unconscious
ness
folloed
Cuic(ly by
death rather
than causing
the prisoner
to bleed to
death. often
hilst still
conscious
It is easy to
condemn
capital
punishment
as barbaric.
but is
spending the
rest of one's
life in prison
so much less
cruel to the
prisoner or is
it merely a
ay of
salving
society's
conscience
and
removing the
unpleasantn
ess for the
staff and
officials?
0
o
r
a
f
u
ll
d
e
s
c
ri
p
ti
o
n
o
f
e
a
c
h
o
f
t
h
e
s
e
m
e
t
h
o
d
s
c
li
c
(
on the hyperlin(s above.
Conclusion.
At the end of the debate. e ould seem to be left ith
) options.
*@ Lot to have the death penalty and the genuine
problems it causes and continue to accept the
relatively high
levels of murder and other serious crimes that e
presently have.
2@ !eintroduce capital punishment for /ust the 4orst4
murderers hich ould at least be some retribution for
the
terrible crimes they have committed and ould
permanently incapacitate them. It ould also save a
small amount
of money each year hich could. perhaps. be spent on
the more genuinely needy This option is unli(ely to
reduce
overall crime levels.
3@ !eintroduce the death penalty in the really strict
format outlined above and see a corresponding drop in
serious
crime hilst accepting that there ill be a lot of human
misery caused to the innocent families of criminals and
that
there ill be the occasional. if inevitable. mista(es.
Ultimately
the choice is
yours!
Sac( t# Con ten ts pa g e %ore th ough ts on cri m e
anRHL# u n is hm e nt in g"n e ri3< TlL#l<8ll ts on
hu ma flllg.bl"
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