The Yorkshire Ripper question?

[PassingStranger]

Just read that it cost the taxpayer 11 billion to keep him alive including his funeral?
Do you still feel the same way about him being hung for his murders?

is it acceptable to the taxpayer to pay that much, when there are so many other things that the money could have been spent on, or dosent the money matter?

I don't support the death penalty.

This is partly because in some cases in the past there have been tragic miscarriages of justice, And also - we are asking another person to kill a human being on our behalf.

But also - I'm just as vengeful as the next person! The death penalty lets people off too easily. Much better to let them sit and think about things for many, many years. Fred West didn't pay the price, in my opinion, because he killed himself while awaiting trial.

Yes, agreed. I should have noted that along with other mitigating factors.

I always had this arguement, but my Father (we're a family of geeks) researched and found out that the number of murders committed by convicts who've previously served time for murders is far higher than the number of people been hung after wrong convictions. I can't remember the numbers but it was far far higher, I was stunned.

Sorry, I don't understand the conclusion of this? The number of people executed after a (proven) wrongful conviction is lower than the number of murderers with previous for murder? What's the connection?

I have had 3 relatives in Prison. One was in and out his whole life from age 14, no chance of ever changing his behaviour, he was just an out and out criminal, was more than happy to be inside. Another one in for attempted murder, he was 44 and the first time he had been in trouble, learnt all about fraud when he was inside , came out and put his new skills to use. Third one was in Rampton and oh my did he live in luxury.
So yes i have had family inside and yes i still think we are too soft on them.

Define his 'life in luxury' @Getonwitit - why was it so luxurious?

I think (having read it several times!) that they're saying that far more convicted murderers are released and then go on to commit murder again is far higher than the number of people who are wrongfully executed. Presumably trying to suggest that its better to execute everyone convicted of murder, because reducing the number of people killed by released convicts outweighs the cons of executing innocent people........

Rampton Luxury????
When I was a student mental health nurse I had a placement at the regional medium secure unit so a step down from Rampton which is high secured and it was grim ,far from luxurious.
In what way did you find it Luxurious?

I remember reading that what deters criminals isn't the severity of the penalty so much as the likelihood of getting caught, because it doesn't become real to them unless and until they're caught.

I don't think the death penalty would deter the sort of people who cold-bloodedly murder. And for those who do it in hot blood - it doesn't deter them becuase they act on an impulse.

I agree. A member of my family teaches literacy in a Midlands prison and she said the basic food provision for young men - it was mostly young men - isn’t sufficient.

Yes, because it would save the lives of innocent people who are currently killed and terrorized by released criminals.

What if it was you or your loved one wrongly convicted?

@OonaStubbs

Myself and many many colleagues would leave the prison service in a heartbeat if death penalty was brought in

Then what??

According to They Work for You, it costs about £51 000 per bod per year. So 32 yrs £ 1, 632 000 give or take. I wonder where the Daily Fail got the data from?

Neither would I.

Where was the data from?

What if it were you or your loved one who became a victim of a released murderer ? If we don’t have a death penalty then life should mean life.

11 billion?!?! I don't believe that. Source?

Should be an eye for an eye. In cases where it's 100% who committed the murders.

“Yorkshire Ripper cost taxpayers £11m - but victim's families didn't get a penny”

Interesting headline. The £11m was spent giving the families (and victims) justice. It wasn’t a gift to Sutcliffe. Surely that’s quite a powerful perspective that we, as a society, felt the investment in justice for them is worth it. I do.

Running a barbaric (IMO) capital punishment system isn’t free and a prison system would still exist and need to be funded.

The problem with the death penalty is so many oppose it. In other countries it has been seen that If enough people who oppose it are on a the jury there will be an unwillingness to convict. Resulting in truly evil individuals being free to roam the streets, as under our system someone is either guilty or not guilty. Not guilty means innocent and he must be released.

Agreed!