Not that wikipedia is the be all and end all but this 'food for thought' can be found elsewhere too:

"The hanging produced much protest in Australia. At the time of Ryan's execution the Australian Broadcasting Corporation suspended broadcasts of Radio for two minutes in protest. There was doubt about Ryan's guilt in Hodson's death, and shock to find that the death penalty would still be carried out. It is often claimed that the execution was used by then Premier of Victoria Henry Bolte (Liberal Party of Australia) for political gain. At the next State Election, Bolte's govenment was returned to power, with an increased majority, but no more death sentences were carried out." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Ryan)

Right or wrong, the enforcement of the law and its consequent punishments are tools of the governments and police force of the day - not just society. Have our governments and police forces been proven to be incorruptible? Infallible? Some governments/police forces of our neighbouring nations are widely known to have problems with corruption .

Regardless of the above, my personal belief is that the death penalty will always be wrong.

lil_ol_me

One matter not so far mentioned is the potential effect of the death penalty on jury verdicts. I know that if I was on a jury in a trial potentially involving the death penalty I would either, whether consciously or subconsciously, require an even higher standard of proof than 'beyond reasonable doubt' in my own personal deliberations. I would probably try to excluse ALL possible doubt, and not just "reasonable doubt".

If I was given the option of verdicts between murder and manslaughter, and sometimes the difference can be wafer thin, I would probably go for manslaughter, knowing that the accused would still spend a long time in prison rather than me being responsible for his death.

This of course would not deliver justice in a full sense, in terms of a finding of guilt and long imprisonment.

The death penalty deters repeat offenders, of which more than 70% make up jail populations in the form of murder and violent crimes. In the past the death penalty didn't deter, but if you use a weapon to murder someone in the act of a crime, then that should be your lot. Our society has become weak in many ways and we spend out time pitying the perpetrator rather than the victims.

There are many that deserve to die, because those that died by their hand didn't deserve to die. Take the bloke who used a speargun to kill his wife and kid, or those who repeat rapes, kills, maims or molests children, put them down. You do it to animals who have never hurt anyone.

A civilised society can handle the death sentence, as can be seen by the most recent polls which say that a majority of Aussies support the death penanlty for certain crimes.

Someone that has killed someone whilst robbing them or breaking into their home, lose their right to life. If you don't use the ultimate deterement, then our jails will just get bigger and bigger as more and more flout the law knowing they can get away with it.

Don't worry about reserve redneck, he is typical of the gonna's who never did.

What Real that messed up Earth?.

Science is a grate thing it has helped thousand of normal thinkers solve problems the things we cannot see or think about get us in trouble.
I believe that a simple thing of changing temperature is
the answer to life and our weather when Rocks metors, penetrate the Magnetic and Ozone on the Dark side that rite behind them is Static Cold that inters the hole that they
cut threw the layers and when the sun radiant heat hit the
tube streaks they explode into all directions and make cross currents that create Low's and High's in the weather
conditions that upper clouds move opposite to the lower clouds and when they collide we get hurricanes,tornados that create the heat exchanger between 12000ft and sea level.

Hamlet, your observation is correct. Examine the Canadian experiance and you will find that since the abolition of CP in the mid seventies the conviction rate for capital crimes has since doubled.
http://www.amnesty.ca/deathpenalty/canada.php

Redneck, you are from Townsville, right? The redneck capital of North Queensland. I lived there for 8 years. I used to love sitting on the beautiful Strand, watching the dull, flat, beach with imported sand infested with chemical waste, watching snot-nosed brats flying past on their skateboards and dogs dropping turds all over the path. I loved the peaceful sound of moron, AJ hoons driving past with bass music thumping so loud that everyone within a kilometre radius could hear it; one hand fully extended on the steering wheel, the other I don't want to know where, and their backwards American baseball caps hovering 5 centimetres above their stupid, shaven heads. Oh, and I hate how everyone goes on about that damn Cowboys rugby team. Why is it that everyone gets so excited over a bunch of ugly men ramming into each other and fighting over a ball? There is more to life! Do you know that the male population of Townsville outnumbers the females 5 to 1? Even I was starting to feel a bit queer by the end of it - not a good thing to be in a town full of 'redneck' homophobes. My point in all of this is that maybe your attitude has a lot to do with the uncultured, ignorant, hillbilly haven you live in. Open your eyes you brainwashed fool, Tubs.
PS, it's 'capital' punishment - military personnel (school failures) are not known for their literacy skills.