I do not believe we should bring back the death penalty merely to placate the rednecks (and being one is nothing to be proud of) within our society. It is usually the rednecks who form the basis of TV, phone polls etc., because they have the most free time, so the poll is usually biased. Many rednecks consider it worthwhile spending a lot of money to enter polls at 55c per call, just to make it seem more people agree with them. One thought it 'worth the 50 bucks just to keep them muslims in detention' a while ago. The US is an example of harsh punishment and death penalties being no deterrent. They still have the highest rates of theft, murder, rape etc., than anywhere else.

redneck, considering how adept this government is at judging the mood of Australia’s mostly conservative population, think of all the 'wedge issues' we have had in the last few years, and considering that all those against the death penalty are of course 'weak lefty' labour, greens and dems voters, you would think that the government would be all over this issue, if they really thought that there was an election winning vote in it. Think of the situation in America, where mainstream candidates run on a pro death penalty platform in certain areas, king George 2's platform when running for governor of Texas for example.

Barry, the removal of the victim’s family from the sentencing process is one of the great civilising principals of modern justice, and is an integral part of the process which has lead to this country being at the forefront of countries with an independent and impartial judiciary, as well as a free and fair democracy. It always astounds me that people such as you and redneck, supposed patriots, are the first to suggest that we become more like the criminals, more like the terrorist, more like the oppressive regimes, who you have, in other forums decried as your enemies. I can only conclude that the regressive primitivism of the right knows no national or religious boundaries.

We can only be thankful that you remain in the minority.

Redneck – you are right – most people, when asked, declare they support the death penalty, regardless of any prevailing circumstances which anti-death penalty proponents might use as an excuse.

I would, personally, support the execution of drug pedlars before “murderers”, the excuse of murderers might just be due to “emotional blindness”. No such mitigation can be extended to drug pedlars, who destroy lives coldly and callously.

Kenny – your complaints regarding US use of death penalty for what you claim are, supposedly, “innocent victims” is misdirected.

Your protest should be directed to the process which, you would claim, allows a significant number of “innocent people” to be found guilty in the first place. Fix that “problem” and you will resolve your objections to the death penalty and release a lot of “innocent people” from supposedly unjust prison sentences as a bonus.

Its not easy being
1 Redneck’s view on the death penalty is in the majority, you are in the minority.

2 You have miss appointed GW Bush as royalty, the USA turned its back on having a monarch, (even a constitutional one) over 200 years ago.

Oh maybe you were being sarcastic – never mind – your low wit is certain to fall under the radar of thinking people.

3 as for “I can only conclude that the regressive primitivism of the right knows no national or religious boundaries.”

And I guess the “left” has still some way to go before it can come to terms with being intellectually barren and politically “impotent”.

The difference between “primitivism” and “impotence”?
– well, the ability to survive beyond one generation at least!

I am opposed to the death penalty, I don’t believe that it deters crime, for the simple reason that no-one who ever commits a crime ever thinks that they will be caught.

We can be protected by locking up offenders for sufficient time, as punishment, as a general deterrent (that is, so that others who consider committing crime may just think twice about it), as an individual deterrent, so that the imprisoned individual is made to think about their future, and for protection of society.

Mind you, I am a bit of a fascist when it comes to law and punishment in some areas: I believe that illegal parking should result in the loss of licence, that no car sold in Australia should be able to exceed 115 km/hr, that dangerous driving occasioning death should be sentenced as murder. On the other hand I would legalise heroin but keep cannabis and cocaine illegal.

On the topic of the death penalty: If it is to be reintroduced it should be carried out in public, and televised, compulsorily, on all TV stations, with repeats of the carrying out of the sentence during each ad break. Videos of the execution should be shown in schools, and just before the starting of all films in cinemas.

After all, if the authorities are going to kill someone in the name of the community, then the community should be made to watch what is being done in its name. The preferred method of execution would be either industrial shredder or hydraulic press. Failing that, reintroduce the practice of hanging, drawing and quartering. The Westfield plaza closest to where the crime was committed would be a good venue.

Let us not pretend that it is a medical procedure involving an injection, or something which looks painless and sheds no blood. If we want it to be a deterrent, then lets make the pain as real as possible. The pain may be more of a deterrent than the actual death.

And while we are at it reintroduce public flogging as well.

A university study somewhere proved that using the death penalty saved the lives of another 18 innocent people.
Somewhere else another lot of academics are peddling like blazes to prove that using the death penalty causes another 18 deaths.
I wish they would make up their minds.
I think it just proves that no body can be sure of anything at all but that doesn't stop people from spouting very dubious facts. If it will get them some free publicity.

Col Rouge, and his mad mate redneck, are not only in a tiny paranoid minority, but lack any compassion, common decency, or consideration of their fellow man. In rednecks case I can sympathise because from what I have read he is a former soldier, trained to kill, in Col Rouge's case, I don't know if a shared background exists, or if stupidity reigns supreme. I read a comment in my local newspaper today, which sums things up for me. :Punishment is meant to teach the criminal a lesson, a lesson which is pretty difficult to learn, if the punishment involves death; maybe someone can explain to me why it is that the drug mules get hung, but the drug bosses carry on unhindered, I would have thought if anyone were to be hung it should be the organisers, not the guinea pigs...