David Swanton claims that the only possible reason for the death penalty is deterrence and retribution. Wrong. Executing the very worst offenders definitely stops repeat offenders. I have previously posted the names of four Australian abductor, rapist, murderers who "served lengthy jail terms" and murdered five more women and children after release.

The claim that "the large majority of experts consider that there is no credible scientific evidence supporting the contention that the death penalty deters criminal behaviour." sounds like double talk to me. Where is the scientific evidence to support the premise that capitol punishment does NOT act as a deterrent? Your incredible claim means that if no evidence exists to support the death penalty, then the absence of evidence supports the idea that capitol punishment should be abolished.

There is no evidence to support there is no life on Neptune, therefore life must exist. Great logic.

Your "retribution" premise is laughable. The principle that offenders with medical problems and mental problems may not be considered legally responsible for their actions is already enshrined in law. Every single county on Earth believes in killing external enemies, because every country on Earth has some sort of armed force to protect it's people. Those soldiers are armed with every kind of lethal weapon imaginable. The double standard that people like you display, is that there is nothing wrong with killing external enemies in whatever numbers you like, but it is absolutely wrong to kill internal enemies, who are usually a lot worse than the external enemies.

I will take notice on human rights when I get to vote for what they should be. Australia is a sovereign state and Australian laws are supposed to be the generally accepted will of the Australian electorate. Unelected International busybodies can go to hell. And just in case you have missed it, the Indonesians are rightfully telling Australian busybodies like you to go to hell. You have just as much right to tell the Indonesians what to do in their own country, as the Indonesians have of demanding that Australians do not eat pork.

Good evening to you both, RHIAN & CONSERVATIVEHIPPIE...

I agree with everything you've said apropos making out a case against Capital Punishment. Have absolutely no doubt gentleman, as an ex detective, I've a distinct loathing for most of these individuals, and strongly recommend 'protracted' gaol time, served in maximum security, together with penal servitude (no longer an option now, regrettably), nevertheless with hard labour, is an absolute must, in my opinion !

The only problem being, we've got these ridiculous 'premature' parole conditions, and a real difficulty with substantial remissions being available, plus special remission that generally accompanies industrial disputation of gaol staff, and other unforeseeable remission being granted ? Consequently we have the crook out and about sooner rather than later ?

The word 'joke' is often 'muttered', and is generally bandied about by all those on the side of the Crown (Prosecution) ? The difficulty being, these crimes are considered so very serious, and are amongst those normally classified as capital crime, and under different circumstance, the punishment would attract a mandatory Death Sentence ? Apparently, if you behave yourself your life sentence, normally means you're out and free, in between 12 to 15 years, the last 4 or 5 years spent in low security incarceration ! My only question - what price is a life ?

In my humble opinion (for what it's worth) a life sentence for the crime of homicide, should attract a absolute minimum of 25 years, again, ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of 25 YEARS ! Depending on the degree of violence, and other judicial considerations, to do with issues of aggravation and compounding the offence of homicide (not necessary to argue each point herein?) that minimum of 25 years, is increased exponentially, to a point of - 'life' without ANY possibility of being paroled or licensed to freedom !

These are only my thoughts on a process of dealing with capital crimes, and the suggested punitive measures as an alternate to the Death Penalty ?

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Dear David (the author),

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Perhaps you might like to read the following article :

http://www.google.fr/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CC8QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aph.gov.au%2FDocumentStore.ashx%3Fid%3Dc1447c7d-6904-4d9e-a7d6-a67edd6fb115%26subId%3D300148&ei=0fL2VOHGMMrzat25gLgO&usg=AFQjCNGFEgm86rD84Z5IQxCtmCDeD0GZ6g&bvm=bv.87519884,d.d24

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O Sung Wu,

Appreciate your remarks on what the police have to see;

I was involved, as the representative of one of the families, in a double suicide and was present from not long after the police arrival to the bodies being taken away by ambulance.
It was not a nice experience and whilst I was there two Probationers were brought in to see their first view of dead people, in this case two teenage boys dead by shotgun in the mouth.
The two constables left looking a bit shaken.

On another occasion I was part of a select group who were shewn police photographs of death scenes; one that I particularly remember was of the Warder who was bludgeoned to death at Emu Plains by two escaped prisoners from another prison.
The senior officer who was giving part of the presentation was scathing in that this particular killing had been found to be "manslaughter". The viciousness as shewn by the shattered and scattered skull was obvious.

A policeman's lot is not an easy one.

The death penalty for trafficking drugs in Indonesia was in place when these two were caught. End of story!

By all means lobby for changes, but they can't be made retrospective.

BTW, if anyone does choose to lobby for change, just make sure they're not using my taxes as well.

Conservative Hippie

You argue mainly from how the death penalty might work in theory. The practice is often far removed.

On your specific points:

Dead people cannot reoffend, but nor can people imprisoned for life. And if a wrongful conviction is made, the wrongfully imprisoned can be released, but the dead can’t be brought back to life.

Legal processes can be streamlined, but the quicker and simpler you make the process, the more likely it is you’ll be killing to wrong person.

The most horrendous crimes are precisely those when emotion and public/media pressure make wrongful conviction more likely, and the demand for the death penalty most strident. Again, witness the IRA (non) bombers. If the UK had the death penalty, they would undoubtedly have been hanged. And are you old enough to remember how fiercely the public loathed Lindy Chamberlain?

In principle the penalty should be determined only by the crime. In practice, the rich, educated and influential are much less likely to be executed than the poor and illiterate, even allowing for the latter’s greater propensity to offend. As a death row guard in this survey says, “I’ve never seen a rich man executed”:
http://web.stanford.edu/group/journal/cgi-bin/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Osofsky_SocSci_2002.pdf

The study also found that prison officers: ‘experience stress and emotional reactions, frequently having a hard time carrying out society’s “ultimate punishment.”’ Detachment is in fact a sign of mental disorder or psychological damage. The best death row guards care for their charges, which is why the process of killing them is so distressing.

Any human being holds the possibility of rehabilitation – witness the Bali 2. That’s not the same as releasing or trusting them. Even the repentant and rehabilitated must complete their punishment.

LEGO
There is no “absence of evidence”. There is lots of evidence, but it is inconclusive and contradictory. The US National Research Council conducted a survey of more than 30 years of studies and concluded “research to date on the effect of capital punishment on homicide rates is not useful in determining whether the death penalty increases, decreases, or has no effect on these rates”.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13363/deterrence-and-the-death-penalty