Hanging's Too Good For 'Em
Jerry Hayes is not a fan of the new e-Petitions. Not at all.
30 Jul 2011, 23:08
Death by lethal injection
Of course, this will be a masturbatory dream to every swivel eyed, carpet biting, foam flecked, green inker screaming online in his mother’s basement, before going back online pretending to be a thirteen year old girl or spending the rest of the night, playing Call of Duty.
Well, Paul Staines, the enigmatic founder of Guido Fawkes, has come up with a wheeze which will send the basement screamers into multiple orgasms of pure ejaculatory joy.
He has devised a debate that manages to cause trouble for every political party, piss off the leaders and stimulate the political clitorethes of every right wing, head banging euro hater. A call for the return of the death penalty. Much trumpeted by the Sun's tasteful and dignified headline, “We will force MPs to vote on the noose”.
The sheer joy of this little debate is not just to appease pitchfork toting red neck lynch mobs after a poor child or a decent copper has been murdered. It goes much deeper. Because Parliament, even if it voted in favour of capital punishment, couldn’t implement it because ( oh God, I think I’m cumming) of Europe.
That’s right, fat sweating Belgians in league with Johnny Frog and Klaus Kraut have tied us into treaties which means we are forbidden to introduce such a law. The foreign swine. The only way we could reintroduce the death penalty is if we unpicked the treaties heralding us being forced to leave the EU. Reach for the tissues.
I have no doubt that it will only take a matter of days before the magic 100,000 is reached. And don’t be surprised if it way exceeds this before Parliament returns.
But please read all the Parliamentary debates of the eighties and nineties on the return of the death penalty. I sat through them all. It was not an edifying experience.
We discussed whether a child’s life was worth more than a policeman’s. The effectiveness and desirability of hanging, gassing, shooting, electrocution and lethal injection. We even had an MP (Peter Bruinvels, Leicester east Con) who was willing to act as an executioner.
So which of our tribunes will make that generous offer in the next few weeks? I can’t wait.
Firstly, let me declare an interest. I prosecute and defend cases which used to carry the death sentence. Secondly, my grandfather was murdered when I was a child, so I understand the horror and traumas that families suffer. I am not going to rehearse all the arguments why I have never voted for the death penalty. But just let me give you just two. Jurors would be reluctant to convict all but the most gross and obvious cases. It would not make us safer in our beds. Quite the opposite. More murderers would walk the streets.
Worse, it would be a recruiting sergeant for every terrorist organisation who would relish the chance of martyrdom. You wouldn’t be able to swing a bombers vest without hitting a potential jihadist. But despite a feeding frenzy for the morally challenged and a wonderful distraction from the hacking shitstorm which will bury most newspapers shortly, I suspect that the public have moved on. Values and attitudes have changed.
I doubt whether there will be the stomach for it from anyone under forty. And if you want a role model for tolerance, civilisation and dignity after an unprovoked slaughter of the innocents, look no further than Norway.
I hope we can live up to their standards.
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Jerry Hayes
Jerry Hayes is a former Conservative MP and leading barrister defending and prosecuting high profile cases
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Comments (9)
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I think Guido is wrong on this one
31/07/2011 11:30Jerry. Could not agree more.
Another oft quoted but pressing point is that of the increased threat to even more police officers posed by the murderer on the run who has even less to lose if cornered.
I've defended in some fairly gruesome cases which were stressful enough, but I can't imagine how I would have felt about the added pressure of the death penalty if it went wrong.
As Timothy Evans counsel could surely confirm....
p.s. whatever DID happen to Bruinvels (aka "Bluebells".) He was in my group at Law School for my Bar Finals. Crap lawyer, and even more crap politician.
31/07/2011 14:31He wasn't supposed to win Leics East anyway, was just put up against Patricia Hewitt ( a shoo-in) to make a lot of noise, - and won!
I agree with your article, Jerry.
Well-argued and well-reasoned.
My late father made the point that it was easier for guilty verdicts to be reached after the death penalty was abolished.
31/07/2011 22:44Jerry you may be right. I don't think you are - but you are in effect suggesting politicians know best and the public does not, and hasn't that got us into trouble in the past?
So are we to believe in direct democracy only on certain issues?
As for the argument that more murderers would walk the streets - doesn't that presuppose that all murders would warrant capital punishment? Do more murderers walk the streets in states with the death penalty in the US? Not sure about that.
31/07/2011 22:59I like e-petitions even though I know that many elected members will loathe them. We the public have little opportunity to influence debate and I feel that I have as much right to this as an elected member looking at some of the silly EDMs they produce.
I am quite sure the Death Penalty will harness huge support. Maybe I will start an alternate petition to condemn any consideration of its reintroduction. I am quite sure I could come up with a lot of argument and research in support of my views vis:
-Barbaric
-Unlikely conviction if Death Penalty Called for. -No evidence that penalty deters crime
-Revenge by the State
-Research suggests 1 in 7 people executed are innocent
-In the US over 2/3rd of death penalty convictions are overturned because of police, prosecution or defence errors.
-Cost of sentence is huge - more lawyers fees, more expert witness fees, and many lengthy and costly appeals procedures.
Sadly, many of those who will call for the penalty to be introduced will not be interested in the arguments against. Oh well....
01/08/2011 13:59Whilst I can't see a return to the Death Penalty, I also like e-petitions we've seen just how mature and informed most of our MPs are and don't even mention expenses!
I personally would really enjoy seeing Miliband and Cameron jointly argue against establishing true democracy to England by giving the English a Parliament, where only English MPs decide how English money is spent on English matters.
01/08/2011 16:51Jerry Hayes. When I saw the title of your article I had a sinking feeling- a crappy tokenistic foray into retributionism.
Alas it was even worse. That article is a disgrace. You prove yourself to be as cynical and uninterested in the real issues at stake as I would expect from an establishment man. Society may have moved on- into the brutal world of baby P and the compensation of Sharobn Shoesmith- and thus society will have to move back if it is to move anywhere at all in future.
I don't doubt that you are bored of the idea of reintroduction. So much easier to dismiss it with a lash of contempt than to admit that the cases you have dealt with should have been dealt with under a different set of precepts- such as recognition of the need to balance the rights of the murderer with those of the victim. Maybe you are just feeling guilty about all the cash you took for callous representation?
04/08/2011 20:10Apologies for not replying sooner but have only just worked out how to do it! Thanks for all of you who agree and James, I wonder what happened to Bruinvels too. To be fair, he's quite a pleasant fellow but with worrying views. Jonathan, I'm not saying that politicians know best it's just that they are elected for their leadership and judgement. Just because a majority want something it doesn't mean it's right or that politicians have to jump through a hoop if they disagree. ed t. oh dear, not sure I can do much for you. Don't feel guilty at all for all those I have had acquitted for murder nor for those I have convicted. It's my job. I do my best and don't mislead the court. The rest is up to the jury.
06/08/2011 11:10Last time I looked a petition to RETAIN the ban on capital punishment had more support than Guido's PR stunt - weirdly possible that that could force a debate on the issue itself, I suppose.
Jerry forgot to add that there is a Commons committee that these things go through who can spike e-petitions as sources for debate. One of the benchmarks they use is whether Parliament could do what is being asked for. As it plainly couldn't without massive upheaval re: Europe, it could just bin it. Would give Guido and the jackboot mob something to froth about for a bit and let the rest of us focus on stuff that matters.
08/08/2011 16:30