Well, one thing is obvious: you can't execute a murderer whom you are 100% sure did the crime and not execute other murderers. In this way, you are implicitly saying that you are not sure the other convicted murderers should have been convicted. You can't make two categories like this. The legal ramifications would be endless, and in a world governed by quantum mechanics, you can't actually be 100% certain of anything. You might think you are certain, but that doesn't make something fact. It is also easy to focus on extreme psychos who abduct, torture and kill their victims. I'd bet that they don't amount to many murderers. More likely, people who get a red mist in an argument, burglars on a job that goes wrong, kids with guns and knives in inner-city gangs who might grow out of their anti-social behaviour in 15 years time. So what do you want to do - kill them all? And then we'd all be living in a fairer better society? Strip emotion and theory out of this and none of it stacks up. As for having a legal system based on revenge - not a good plan. If you look at the misery in Corsica and Italy and Balkan countries with their ceaseless revenge culture and vendettas, it doesn't look like a good solution. "His family killed my grandfather. One of them must die". Where does that lead, eh? To civilisation? No system is perfect. There will be aberrations. You just have to think to see that the aberrations we have in our system are the lesser of the aberrations we could have. Would be all be so much more cheerful and safe living in Texas? I don't think so.
In China they make the executed criminals family pay for the bullet. However best not go down that path of human rights.
BBC News - Boy, 12, killed in Bradford hit-and-run crash BBC News - Natalie Jarvis murder: Adam Whelehan remanded in custody BBC News - April Jones: Church service for missing girl Eye for a Eye, Life for a Life ??
Dear Jim. Please could you fix it for the girl in my class who I really fancy to come on holiday with me? Yours sincerely Jeremy Forest aged 30.
