A Crime Punishable by Death

The Death Penalty. Now non-existent in Britain, but still used in over 35 States (October 2009) in America. 

This week it has been brought into a Controversial Light, after Troy Davis was executed in Georgia, despite most of the witnesses leading to his sentence later changing their testimonies. The murder he was accused of committing took place in 1989.

So is the Death Penalty right? Should we bring it back? Or should the US follow us, and abolish it? With those questions asked we instantly step off the firm ground of opinion, right onto the thin ice of Controversy.

Let's start with the easy stuff. The Facts.

The Death Penalty was first introduced to the UK in 1707 and was abolished in 1964. The Americans introduced the Penalty in 1608, and  according to the "Espy File" 15,269 people were executed in the United States and its predecessor colonies between 1608 and 1991. There were 46 executions in 2010 alone, including one by electric chair, and one by firing squad.

Ronnie Lee Gardner (1961-2010) Executed by: Firing Squad.

Ronnie Lee Gardner, seen above, was sentenced to death for fatally shooting his Attorney, on the way to a Court hearing for a Homicide that he also committed. His first Murder was committed in 1984. His Second, the Attorney,  was 1985. He successfully kept his case in Court, with a series of appeals, for nearly 25 years before he was shot by Firing Squad in 2010. Whilst in Jail, he also stabbed another inmate.

For even this man, whose whole intent was to murder or cause bodily harm, surely the firing squad isn't suitable punishment? Isn't there a more humane way? Or is any form of execution equally inhumane?

In my opinion any form of killing someone, is in itself Murder. OK, OK there are exceptions; Hitler and his Nazi colleagues, serial killers and serial rapists. There are some people who don't deserve a place in even the darkest of Prisons. And I know that if someone I know directly was murdered, that I would want the Murderer to be punished. But to be killed?

They say two wrongs don't make a right. Surely this is the same for murder. Two people murdered and nobody's happy. But where can you draw the line between who should be sentenced, and who should be condemned?

According to Isle of Wight Conservative MP Andrew Turner, (2 August, 2011) that line is those who "killed children or Police Officers." He used the all too familiar stories of Ian Brady (pictured above) and Myra Hindley, Roy Whiting, and those who murdered Baby P.
Mr Turner also said that a Parliamentary debate should take place to discuss the matter of Capital Punishment, and whether or not it should be brought back. He said the Death Penalty is the "proper punishment" for those serious crimes.

Amnesty International responded by calling the penalty "a cruel relic of the past".

At the same time, a Government petition website was launched, giving campaigners and the public the chance to initiate Parliamentary debates. You must secure 100,000 signatures to be eligible for your idea to be debated in the Houses of Parliament.

So far the Petition to "Restore the Death Penalty" has 21,139 signatures (22.09.2011) whilst on the same day, the Petition to "Retain the Ban" has 29,592 votes.

Jeremy Croft, head of Amnesty UK's policy and Government affairs, said "In our experience public support for Capital Punishment falls dramatically when people are confronted with the grim reality of what it means to put a person on trial for their life, and then kill them."

He said that he was also concerned about miscarriages of justice such as the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four and Stephen Downing.

Leicester City Councillor Barbara Potter, however, said "I believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life" Adding "I'm a mother myself, so I want to keep them as safe as possible."
"With all the DNA technology we can be 100% sure that someone is guilty and when we are 100% sure that this man has killed this child and the evidence is there, then capital punishment is appropriate."

We get you want to keep your child safe, as any parent would. And we get that some criminals are evil, evil people. But there is a chance that someone may be killed, and that a few months later that last little bit of evidence will be revealed which proves them innocent. Can we really take that risk?

In my view, no. If I could would I have ensured that Hitler was executed? Yes, of course I would. Would I have done the same of Myra Hindley? Probably, yes, but I struggle to actively say that I think it is ever going to be a good thing to end somebodies life. War Crimes, Holocaust, Mass Murder, Torture. These things perhaps deserve to be punished by death. But surely in almost every single case, there is a form of repentance, of regret.

Forgiveness is not something we do for somebody else, but for ourselves, to help us get well and move on. Times have changed, and maybe death isn't the answer to death.