27 years of the poor guys life wasted
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7950303.stm
27 years for (presumably being mental and confessing to it) a crime you didn't commit.
Poor, silly bastard!
I've always been against the death penalty. This is the reason why.
Cheers,
James
27 years of the poor guys life wasted
This is exactly why we shouldn't have the death penalty. At least you can be let out of jail.
The other thing it shows up is the difference between a guilty and not guilty plea. If you plead not guilty and are convicted, you get a harsher
sentence, in this case denied parole. In cases where you actually are innocent, you are punished more for telling the truth than if you lied. It is
a fundamental and serious flaw in our legal system. I understand the reasons for that rule but disagree with them because of this very side effect.
true this case and a few others would have been terrible if we had the death penalty, and its absolutely horrible that this guy has had 27 years of
his life wasted, but i STILL think that properly investigated cases with rock solid evidence should still lead to the death penalty. I think it would
be so much more of a deterent than just years in a cushy jail cell having shitload of money spent on thier 'rehabilitation'.
I also think it should be given for lower crimes as well, it would stop the youth mentality these days of ill just steal this or trash that! obviously
not but still, it would make them think twice!
All in my controversial opinion obv 
quote:
Originally posted by hellbent345
true this case and a few others would have been terrible if we had the death penalty, and its absolutely horrible that this guy has had 27 years of his life wasted, but i STILL think that properly investigated cases with rock solid evidence should still lead to the death penalty. I think it would be so much more of a deterent than just years in a cushy jail cell having shitload of money spent on thier 'rehabilitation'.
I also think it should be given for lower crimes as well, it would stop the youth mentality these days of ill just steal this or trash that! obviously not but still, it would make them think twice!
All in my controversial opinion obv
quote:
Originally posted by James
You would have young people put to death for theft???
Even worse, his legal representative asked for DNA evidence to be used to try and prove his innocence 10 years ago and was told that there were no
longer any samples kept from the crime to compare - he's only free now because these *non-existent* samples have been found! 
[Edited on 18/3/09 by SteveWalker]
quote:
Originally posted by James
quote:
Originally posted by hellbent345
true this case and a few others would have been terrible if we had the death penalty, and its absolutely horrible that this guy has had 27 years of his life wasted, but i STILL think that properly investigated cases with rock solid evidence should still lead to the death penalty. I think it would be so much more of a deterent than just years in a cushy jail cell having shitload of money spent on thier 'rehabilitation'.
I also think it should be given for lower crimes as well, it would stop the youth mentality these days of ill just steal this or trash that! obviously not but still, it would make them think twice!
All in my controversial opinion obv
I'm sure they thought it was a rock solid case at the time! They had a confession and they had a blood type match.
What you consider a 'rock solid' case may well in the future be proven to be a shaky conviction.
You would have young people put to death for theft???
That's pretty harsh!
Have you considered movin to China? The *official* figure of Capital punishment there (from the Chinese government) is 1800 a year. But Amnesty and others believe it is far more than that.
Cheers,
James
[Edited on 18/3/09 by James]
I too am generally against the death sentence but not because of this case. He was described by his own legal team as a pathological liar. He made
numerous admissions and wasted vast amounts of police time and this may have allowed a third party to get away. He has cost us a fortune in providing
his keep. The DNA didn't match so he didn't rape her, the identity of the murderer is unknown, that doesn't mean it wasn't him.
I agree that there are pressures to plead guilty and lessen the sentence. He didn't do that, he did the opposite. Even without DNA allowing
retrials after so long it very missguided - people forget, move, die etc- unless there is truely significant new evidence.
Just my thoughts, not saying I'm right.
As for today, it is perfectly possible to plant someone elses DNA at the scene of a crime or for it to be innocently there, so even that cannot give 100% certainty.
How many murderers have served their sentence, been released and killed again? Perhaps if capital punishment was brought back there wouldn't be so many stabbings? How many have died already this year due to knife crime ? If the guy was stupid enough the admit to a murder he didn't do then he deserves to be punished ,as there is still a murderer at large who may have been caught if he hadn't claimed he had done it. I do not have any sympathy for him .
I'm not sure I agree with the death penalty as such but if people like Ian Huntley want to top themselves I say let them get on with it. Not saying I'd encourage them to do it or hand them the rope but I wouldn't spend tens of thousands putting him on suicide watch either!
i agree with rusy nuts, the twat shouldn't have confessed if he didnt do it.
Should keep him locked up till they find who did do it, since he essentially made the trail go cold by confessing.
quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
How many murderers have served their sentence, been released and killed again? Perhaps if capital punishment was brought back there wouldn't be so many stabbings? How many have died already this year due to knife crime ?
If someone murded your kids would'nt you want them to be put to death, i know i would and it would be cheaper on the tax payer to, IMHO.
quote:
Originally posted by roadrunner
If someone murded your kids would'nt you want them to be put to death, i know i would and it would be cheaper on the tax payer to, IMHO.
quote:
Originally posted by smart51
This is exactly why we shouldn't have the death penalty. At least you can be let out of jail.
quote:
Originally posted by James
quote:
Originally posted by roadrunner
If someone murded your kids would'nt you want them to be put to death, i know i would and it would be cheaper on the tax payer to, IMHO.
Personally, no, I would want them tortured for the rest of a hopefully very long life. Fortunately (and rightly), the recently bereived don't get to make legal policy.
When you're dead, you're dead. Where's the punishment in that?
If you don't believe in an eternal damnation type hell (I don't) then death is a bit of an easy get out isn't it!!!
If you do believe in hell, then they're going to end up there for all of eternity anyway, so you might as well have them banged up for 50 years or so on their way there!
Cheers,
James
Im along the same lines as hellbent. To someone who is going to commit a crime and they know if caught they will go inside, what deterrant is there.
The last time I listened/watched/read they had 3 square meals a day with a menu that is changed. A chance to earn money, education etc etc. I know its
not them that pays for it.
Having them tortured would be good, maybe petty crimes have their hands off? Whos really going to nick a car a bike if there was grounds for loosing a
hand?
IMO of course
If you look at the crime statistics (don't even suggest comparing the UK to the USA - it has never been similar) for this country before and after the abolition of the death penalty you will clearly see how effective it was as a deterrent.
quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
How many murderers have served their sentence, been released and killed again? Perhaps if capital punishment was brought back there wouldn't be so many stabbings? How many have died already this year due to knife crime ? If the guy was stupid enough the admit to a murder he didn't do then he deserves to be punished ,as there is still a murderer at large who may have been caught if he hadn't claimed he had done it. I do not have any sympathy for him .
I think i'd rather just be topped than spend 27 years inside, innocent or not. Poor sod.
public flogging and removal of one digit should be used for theft especially wjhen there is evidence to support be it DNA, CCTV etc
I always felt that hard labour is the answer to most crimes - chain gangs and quarry duty - depending on crime give them 1 to 1000 bins, a chisel and a hammer and tell them that when it is full of 10mm stone they can go home. Also reduce their food by say 10 calories per day per month as extra incentive to get out.
I always felt that hard labour is the answer to most crimes - chain gangs and quarry duty - depending on crime give them 1 to 1000 bins, a chisel and a hammer and tell them that when it is full of 10mm stone they can go home. Also reduce their food by say 10 calories per day per month as extra incentive to get out.
wouldnt you like those statistics to go down?? incidentally look at the amount of black people that were invloved in knife crime and the amount of
white people that are victims..? i think its the mentality again of 'we can get away with it becuase we can just say you coppers are beng
racist' and the violence that comes from certain types of black people thinking they are still hard done by because of thier race. I am not
racist in any way i will work alongside anybody, and regularly do, but what does p*ss me off is the ones that use 'non existant' racism to
feel better about not doing any work or commiting violent crimes... anyway back to the point.
This is a graph showing homicide rates against the use of the death penalty. Clearly a definate correlation there with the lack of use of the death
penalty and increase in killings.
[Edited on 19/3/09 by hellbent345]
quote:
Originally posted by jimmyjoebob
If you look at the crime statistics (don't even suggest comparing the UK to the USA - it has never been similar) for this country before and after the abolition of the death penalty you will clearly see how effective it was as a deterrent.
No, my point was that the death penalty in this country worked very well in keeping the murder rate low, far more so than where it is still used in America today.