WHY DO PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING???
I am NOT against the death penalty
In cases where it is warranted! People like McVeigh or Ivan Milac (Backpacker murders here) lose their right to live by the very way they went about their murders. People like the couple here who got a little girl of 8 and tortured her before a very sadistic burning her alive! They were mature adults, had full adult cognition, had a good understanding of how society viewed such acts etc. There was also solid evidence they had done the crimes.
If there is no death penalty, but they are worthy of that penalty, then they should not live in the same conditions other prisoners get. Their life should be as austere as possible, and there should be no socialisation for them at all - justl ike USA Some of death penalty conditions!
Here in Queensland, they get treated like they are on a bloody holiday! It makes my blood boil! My daughter works for Corrective Services here and she and her collegues are disgusted at what they have to provide for these prisoners ..... and they have to follow the law and they agree the law stinks in this area.
I AM against the death penalty
In cases like Lindy Chamberlain, or whenever it is all circumstantial evidence or there are serious questions about their guilt.
In cases where it was not premeditated (except in the case of armed robbery where they were carrying a weapon).
In cases where there are mitigating circumstances such as mental illness at the time of the crime such as the woman who just killed her 5 children.
In cases where the crime was committed under the influence of drugs etc. by a young person. This is like mental illness at the time.
In cases such as these children who did not have full adult cognition or understanding of full consequences at the time they committed the murder.
In Addition: I do not exonerate them for what they did. It was cruel and wrong! I also do not exonerate the parents of these boys. There were obviously problems at home which contributed to the lack of emotional maturity in these boys.
What I am saying is: They are now 18 and must be moved to an adult prison. Do we really want them to end up worse than they are now and THEN be released? This is worth thinking about. What if they were to spend another 10 years in prison - even if isolated from each other and other prisoners - they would come out of there really messed up and probably do worse crimes. This way they will continue to receive compulsory counselling and supervision.
So Bruce I do agree with the death penalty and would like to see it come back in for cases like I described. If it is not brought back then they should not live in jail in holiday conditions. Nor should they ever be released no matter how good they are! For them life should be life should be life!
JanG
CAIC Website: http://caic.org.au/zjws.htm
Personal Webpage: http://uq.net.au/~zzjgroen/