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Originally Posted by skunk4u
You are right and I'm sorry was a little  when I did the poll, |
Don't worry - as I said earlier, I understand what you're saying
The trouble is that it's difficult to tie it down to a single option, as there are a number of problems with that. For example, what if someone (who has pleaded his innocence all along) is convicted of murdering a policeman, and is put to death. However, 5 years later, new forensic evidence comes to light, and the authorities find that it definitely wasn't him, and somebody else is found guilty - it's not like you can bring the innocent man back.
Also (using the policeman analogy again), how far does it stretch - would you still get the death penalty if you murdered him when he was off-duty?
Unfortunately, it often isn't a clear-cut case of 'Yes, he did it - hang him'. For those who know a little of the 'recent' history of capital punishment in Britain, I just need to use the exceptionally open-ended term 'Let him have it, Chris', and it shows what is so difficult about this.