See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13909816The sentencing of Levi Bellfield to life imprisonment for the murder of Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old girl, has once again reignited the debate about Capital Punishment. How can anybody successfully claim that Bellfield does not deserve the death penalty?
In truth: They can’t! Of course he deserves it. But by reacting with our minds full of the red mist of this harrowing case we might be at risk of overlooking something: Wouldn't it be awful if he got hanged and then the next day somebody found out that he didn't do it! Of course he'd get a posthumous pardon! Big deal! What good will that do him! This has actually happened. If the Death Penalty had been in force when the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four had been convicted then they'd be dead now! And as you know if you watched my Richard D Hall interview, see: http://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-interview-on-richplanet-starship.html , I strongly suspect Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr are innocent of the Soham Murders. I had an argument with somebody at work about this. He said that it would be "highly unlikely" that miscarriages of justice would occur in this day and age of DNA forensics etc. But these methods are not 100% infallible; especially when you take into account people being framed like Huntley and Carr maybe were. If investigations are anything short of 100% perfect then it’s only a matter of time before an innocent man goes to the gallows; this not hypothetical, it is a statistical certainty. As I said to my colleague, if you still support hanging with this knowledge then you'd better explain yourself to the loved-ones of the poor guy who gets topped when he's done nothing wrong!
The scarey thing about Bellfield is that he doesn't look particularly unusual. As researchers into ponerology, or the study of psychopaths, says: Psychopaths maintain an outward appearance of being very average and unremarkable. They are often even superficially charming! This was definitely the case with "Centaur", see: http://hpanwoforum.freeforums.org/eyes-of-the-centaur-t496.html
Hi Ben, I read this old blog with interest. Perhaps CP is too barbaric and is often a way for vile criminals to avoid decades in austere conditions in Cat A prisons. Life without parole, is very expensive, but it is a much tougher sentence, and stops people being hanged by the State as a form of suicide. Life without parole with no means to commit suicide and in solitary so to avoid being attacked and possibly killed by other cons is the way to go, possibly? Every day the same with the only people from the outside they can talk to is their lawyer.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, what makes you think that Huntley is not the Soham murderer, if you do indeed still feel that way?
Garth
Hi Garth. "Whole life" sentences are worthwhile. They leave the option of appeal open, but not parole. The reason I suspect Huntley is innocent is a long story, but it can be found here: http://www.richplanet.net/starship_main.php?ref=28&part=1
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