Quote Originally Posted by outwoodclaret View Post
These issues have of course been previously debated on these pages Swiss. Doubtless our legal studies have had a great bearing on our views on capital punishment.

Quote Originally Posted by 1959_60 View Post
[B]




Hanging was an issue that divided the country. It was finally abolished in 1969 after many years of argy bargy from both sides.
There is a move by some Tory MP's to bring hanging back. If there were to be a referendum on it, and it was passed, then I for one (and I suspect Labour and the Lib Dems) would campaign strongly for it's abolition once again.
But we would not be "going to arbitrarily cancel 17.4 million votes and overturn it." That is complete nonsense and you know it.
But we would strongly campaign for it's abolition - which has been normal practice in a democracy since the year dot.
The cause for abolition was given much additional weight by three particular cases. The hanging of Timothy Evans for the crimes committed by John Reginald Christie; the hanging of Ruth Ellis who murdered her sometimes violent lover when public opinion was strongly against the death penalty in the circumstances of her case;and finally the hanging of Derek Bentley for the murder of a police officer by his accomplice Chris Craig who at 16 was himself too young to be sentenced to death.

Public opinion has no doubt shifted in recent years because of the vile and repulsive deeds by Al-Qaeda and ISIS amongst others. I am yet to be convinced about the merits or otherwise of the re-introduction of capital punishment.
I agree Outwood. I am sure that we could both write a thesis on this subject. There is both the jurisprudential perspective as well as the moral perspective. Throw into that the subjective decisions of a human jury and it is a recipe for almost permanent debate.

One element that I do not agree with is the focus on the accused and their rights compared with the victim and the victim’s family who are too often overlooked by the liberal brigade.