Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

You've omitted to quote the reason I gave for my belief ie that the perpetrator is more likely to kill the child to permanently silence them through murder if they fear being executed if caught.

A child at least has a chance to recover from their ordeal and get on with their life with the right support if they are kept alive.

For those looking for revenge, I think that being imprisoned for a long time is much more of a punishment than being quickly and painlessly executed (which is how our society would do it in the unlikely event that the death penalty was reintroduced). They will be labeled as a 'Nonce' and I imagine will be bullied by other prisoners (there is a hierarchy even in prison) or have to stay in solitary confinement for their own safety.

For those like me who believe in the afterlife, their spirit/soul will become free (though what happens to them for doing such an wicked thing on Earth is a subject for another thread).

For those who believe that death is the end, it will all go black, they will have no consciousness and will have effectively got away with no punishment.