tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post193877495397128225..comments2024-03-27T06:56:10.255+00:00Comments on Broad Oak Magazine: Is "double jeopardy" wrong?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-75364207767460951782009-01-29T01:44:00.000+00:002009-01-29T01:44:00.000+00:00dearieme - I don't know what happened to my commen...dearieme - I don't know what happened to my comment, but look up Timothy Evans. I was wrong that he wasn't the last one hanged, but it was close.Paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07952088638231881617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-52095619975869146482009-01-28T00:47:00.000+00:002009-01-28T00:47:00.000+00:00" It is a fact that the last person hanged in the ..." It is a fact that the last person hanged in the UK was found later to be innocent." Oh dear: who was that?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-13640709432703075052009-01-27T17:34:00.000+00:002009-01-27T17:34:00.000+00:00Re guns, James, have you seen this?:http://ferfal....Re guns, James, have you seen this?:<BR/><BR/>http://ferfal.blogspot.com/2009/01/reply-gun-at-home-and-other-weapons.htmlSackersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09410040031410954403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-6035639951927193892009-01-27T14:20:00.000+00:002009-01-27T14:20:00.000+00:00The death penalty and legalizing guns are both exc...The death penalty and legalizing guns are both excellent deterrents.James Highamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14525082702330365464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-87474164715035650042009-01-26T22:53:00.000+00:002009-01-26T22:53:00.000+00:00I would add to my previous comments that (accordin...I would add to my previous comments that (according to an old friend who a defense attorney), about 94% of those in the US who go to trial are convicted.Paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07952088638231881617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-90729617889383208962009-01-26T18:42:00.000+00:002009-01-26T18:42:00.000+00:00Hi, Welshcakes. Hope you're keeping well - my wife...Hi, Welshcakes. Hope you're keeping well - my wife's a fan of your blog!Sackersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09410040031410954403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-58266812325850207232009-01-26T16:58:00.000+00:002009-01-26T16:58:00.000+00:00I think double jeopardy should be allowed now, bec...I think double jeopardy should be allowed now, because of the advances in forensic science that you mention. I am against the death penalty but I do think "life" imprisonment should be just that. I do agree with your last sentence.Welshcakes Limoncellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17209759237794290941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-71971381697361183122009-01-25T21:41:00.000+00:002009-01-25T21:41:00.000+00:00For some reason I was thinking about 'life' senten...For some reason I was thinking about 'life' sentences recently, and was coming to similar conclusions regarding the balance between what the victims loses, (100% of their remaining life), and what the criminal loses (on average 14 years).<BR/><BR/>My proposal would be that 'life' would mean imprisonment until a fixed point (probably age 65), or a fixed amount (probably 30 years), whichever came later. So if you murder someone at age 20, you would be in prison until your 65th birthday. No parole. If you're 50 when committing the crime, you wouldn't get out until you're 80 (if you make it that far). Again, no parole.<BR/><BR/>This way a young murderer loses pretty much their entire active life. We don't end up with loads of pensioner prisoners, as most murderers are aged below 35, so would get out at 65.<BR/><BR/>I am against the death penalty for the 'wrongful conviction' reason. Plus I don't think I could pull the lever myself, so would not ask someone to do so on my behalf.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-82110532130664483292009-01-25T20:15:00.000+00:002009-01-25T20:15:00.000+00:00P, I understood that the existence of the death pe...P, I understood that the existence of the death penalty made criminals very wary of carrying guns when on a job, so the detrrence may have worked at an earlier stage of the proceedings.<BR/><BR/>Nick, my experience on a jury was opposite of yours; and it seemed to me that the judge was also laying a manicured thumb on the scales of justice. What to do? Should we allow the State to keep jury-shopping with serial trials, until they come up with the "right" verdict?Sackersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09410040031410954403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-15384231552202604832009-01-25T19:15:00.000+00:002009-01-25T19:15:00.000+00:00a very minor comment: I sat on a jury a year or so...a very minor comment: I sat on a jury a year or so ago, and observed that the only reason why several of the jurors were willing to find guilty (red-handed, based on rather clear CCTV evidence!) was that they were convinced the perp - a most unsavoury, violent youth - wasn't going to be gaoled. <BR/><BR/>In the event, to everyone's surprise, he <I>was</I> goaled (at the time of the crime he was on remand from an earlier GBH, and pending trial for 5 more offences of violence etc etc, but we didn't know that before the verdict, of course); and when we re-convened, several jurors said they wouldn't have found guilty if they'd known he was going down. And this <I>after</I> we knew his record !<BR/><BR/>The chances of getting a modern jury to convict on a capital crime - short of it being Fred West <I>lui-même</I> - seem to me close to nilNick Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13670594203660051701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-43768812184986560922009-01-25T19:11:00.000+00:002009-01-25T19:11:00.000+00:00I have a few thoughts:1. While I have always been ...I have a few thoughts:<BR/><BR/>1. While I have always been in favour of the death penalty for first-degree murder, I regard it not as deterrent or punishment, but more as one would destroy a vicious dog. It is necessary, but unfortunate.<BR/><BR/>2. It is a fact that the last person hanged in the UK was found later to be innocent. In the US, a huge number (possibly in the hundreds) of people, primarily black, have been shown by DNA to be innocent of crimes from rape to murder. In many cases in the South, the DA incredibly still wants to re-try them!<BR/><BR/>3. The reason that I don't believe in the deterrent effect, especially for violent crime, is that the average violent criminal has a limited attention span, and isn't that bright to boot.Paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07952088638231881617noreply@blogger.com