Capital Punishment

No, never. If even one person was executed and later deemed to have been innocent, that is one too many. I agree with others who say that a life sentence should be exactly that.
Juliet27 mentioned the cost of keeping someone in prison.
Are people aware that the most common reason for a woman being in prison is evasion of a TV licence. The second most common is shop-lifting, inevitably committed so as to be able to feed either/both their children/drug abuse. Also, the majority of women in prison have been victims of some form of abuse, including sexual and physical, often for years and are very vulnerable to further abuse.
Should either of these “crimes” be punished by a costly imprisonment? There is sometimes further expense to the state as their children have to be cared for whilst they are in prison if the other parent/relatives do not step in to take the children.

grannydarkhair. I think you will find that women may be convicted of failing to pay a fine for a TV licence but in fact very rarely go to prison for this offence if you check your facts.

I do agree that women who end up in prison for indictable offences, ie theft from shops, fraud, assault, drugs and having offensive weapons, have often been victims of abuse themselves, and further punishment is a costly but not necessarily the best way to deal with them.

HousePlantQueen

I think this post, from The Secret Barrister, sums up my opinion nicely and better than I can;

a political party which continues to produce and promote people who, whether through their own ignorance or for their own perceived political advantage, seek to exploit and inflame the worst nature of their least informed constituents, should be nowhere near government

30p Lee is such a person.

Yes.

Wyllow3

HousePlantQueen

I think this post, from The Secret Barrister, sums up my opinion nicely and better than I can;

a political party which continues to produce and promote people who, whether through their own ignorance or for their own perceived political advantage, seek to exploit and inflame the worst nature of their least informed constituents, should be nowhere near government

30p Lee is such a person.

Yes.

Completely agree. Must remember it.

The recent murderer was given over 20 life sentences, personally I don’t thinks that’s civilised. Every person whose life it taken, has family that will be traumatised and their lives is ruined for ever, how many times has someone come out of prison and killed again? Look at all the rapists that kill, the drug pushers that kill because someone is on their patch., do they deserve to live?

30p Lee on Capital Punishment

"Capital punishment

There is currently an epidemic of violent crime in the country. Even the police, God bless them, are at it. People think they can get away with murder these days. But it’s got to stop. So now is the time to bring back hanging. Have you ever heard of a person who has been executed going on to re-offend? No. So it clearly works as a deterrent. And who cares if you occasionally kill the wrong person? Even if they hadn’t done that crime they would probably have gone on to commit another one. So no harm done. In any case, you can get too hung up on innocence and due process of the law. In any clampdown on serious crime there will be some collateral damage. People are far too squeamish. We could even reintroduce public executions. I’m sure people would want to pay to see them. Tory party members could have priority booking."

If you want to read more of this dreadful man's thoughts, here's a link www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/09/bring-back-hanging-and-real-men-making-the-tories-great-again-by-lee-anderson

Dinahmo

30p Lee on Capital Punishment

"Capital punishment

There is currently an epidemic of violent crime in the country. Even the police, God bless them, are at it. People think they can get away with murder these days. But it’s got to stop. So now is the time to bring back hanging. Have you ever heard of a person who has been executed going on to re-offend? No. So it clearly works as a deterrent. And who cares if you occasionally kill the wrong person? Even if they hadn’t done that crime they would probably have gone on to commit another one. So no harm done. In any case, you can get too hung up on innocence and due process of the law. In any clampdown on serious crime there will be some collateral damage. People are far too squeamish. We could even reintroduce public executions. I’m sure people would want to pay to see them. Tory party members could have priority booking."

If you want to read more of this dreadful man's thoughts, here's a link www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/09/bring-back-hanging-and-real-men-making-the-tories-great-again-by-lee-anderson

Good grief 😔

Dinahmo

30p Lee on Capital Punishment

"Capital punishment

There is currently an epidemic of violent crime in the country. Even the police, God bless them, are at it. People think they can get away with murder these days. But it’s got to stop. So now is the time to bring back hanging. Have you ever heard of a person who has been executed going on to re-offend? No. So it clearly works as a deterrent. And who cares if you occasionally kill the wrong person? Even if they hadn’t done that crime they would probably have gone on to commit another one. So no harm done. In any case, you can get too hung up on innocence and due process of the law. In any clampdown on serious crime there will be some collateral damage. People are far too squeamish. We could even reintroduce public executions. I’m sure people would want to pay to see them. Tory party members could have priority booking."

If you want to read more of this dreadful man's thoughts, here's a link www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/09/bring-back-hanging-and-real-men-making-the-tories-great-again-by-lee-anderson

I think that's John Crace's "humour".

Don’t believe in Capital punishment, but, I agree ‘Life’ should mean. I think in the USA it does(?) , but not here.

Our courts make mistakes. Some innocent (mainly) men are freed after many years in prison when the truth is established, often after an uphill struggle with the system. Despite ruined lives they can be compensated, however inadequately. You can never compensate someone who has been executed after a mistake. I suppose 30p Lee is really saying, 'Execution solves the compensation problem'. He's not stupid of course: he knows how to divert attention from this awful Tory government's deliberate and careless mistakes.

Dinahmo
Was that what he actually said or is it a spoof?

Just read this
www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/09/bring-back-hanging-and-real-men-making-the-tories-great-again-by-lee-anderson

Great send up by John Crace. Sadly spoofs can be difficult to recognise from genuine articles in some tabloids and dare I say it, some opinions.

It's part spoof but based upon and including Lee's actual phrases.

grannydarkhair- I am totally opposed to capital punishment. I share your misgivings about prison for women committing low level crimes. However, I understand the frustration of the judiciary when faced with someone who endlessly flouts the law. One such parent in a school in which I taught stole from shops, from her neighbours, altered the meters to reduce her bills, drove cars with no tax or insurance ( and no driving licence!). She told me that she was expecting baby number 5 as she went to court for the most recent offence and added " they won't send me to jail pregnant " Well, dear reader "they" did - a few months and out before the baby was born, with an electronic tag. She was an engaging woman, but I shared the benches despair about her life choices, and the example she was setting for her children.

I can't imagine that Carrick will survive his life sentence in prison. I think he's made some attempts at suicide already although half heartedly. Being an ex policeman and a sex offender there will be several other prisoners who will try to get at him.

No, never.

Yes,for Paedophiles, child rapists, premeditated murder and terrorists. Why should the tax payer keep them.

It should only be carried out when there is absolutely no doubt of the person's guilt. The recent case of Katie Kenyon, where the whole thing was pre-planned and carried out is a typical case of malice aforethought. Then execution is the right course of action.
On a different tack...if there are more Conservatives like Lee Anderson out there....make yourselves known and the Tories might stay in power. This country needs more MPs with his attitude.

So if someone commits an awful murder, but is later found to have a brain condition, ie a tumour, which caused the deviant behaviour, do we execute them? They may only find on post mortem…..

no, you are wrong there, Curtain.
some do feel strongly for capital punishment but they are mostly elderly and thus diminishing.
the majority of uk population now are against.
the attitude has definitely shifted over the last 30 years.

Usernametaken

Yes,for Paedophiles, child rapists, premeditated murder and terrorists. Why should the tax payer keep them.

All murder is pre-meditated, if it isn't, it is manslaughter. Terrorist? Would that include the late Nelson Mandela? Not quite as cut and dried as you imply, is it?

welbeck

no, you are wrong there, Curtain.
some do feel strongly for capital punishment but they are mostly elderly and thus diminishing.
the majority of uk population now are against.
the attitude has definitely shifted over the last 30 years.

I would not be so sure. I think if a referendum was held now my feeling is the vote would be to reinstate.
I agree though that not as many people would vote for its re introduction as previously, but I still think there is enough that would want its re introduction.

I used to be for capital punishment but quickly changed my mind when I realised that, of course, innocent people have been executed.

I do think though, that life ought to be life and prisoners should live in a strict and hard routine. No point in them being in there if it is pleasant. As for them being hard to handle if life is tough, make the days harder for those who cause trouble. We need to be a lot harder about crime.

Well going by the majority on this post I don’t believe that would happen rafichgran. I assume that most posting on here are older, and this is the demographic more likely to vote for reinstatement, and the consensus so far is against reinstatement.