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?

My dad was questioned about this....as he had a Geordie accent, looked similar and lived in the area....so no I do not support hanging someone as that could've been my dad being hanged for a crime he didn't commit.

we both read the Mailonline today then lol

"During the 30 years the infamous killer spent at Broadmoor and is believed to have cost the taxpayer a total of £11 billion."

they deffo said billion. I did assume it was bullshit or wrong but that's where that info has come from

That is your definition and you are entitled to that but it is not the only definition regarding someone who values human life.

What should they do in unclear cases?

don't be soft. None of my posts on this thread have indicated in the slightest possible way that i am pro death penalty.

My comment was related to the cost. I merely pointed out that we are so used to people in the US being on death row for 30 years that we forget that some countries literally drag them out and kill them right from the dock.

There is absolutely nothing in my post to suggest that either of those scenarios is ok.

I agree with those who draw attention to the far too frequent miscarriages of justice that can lead to convicted murderers being released on review of their case. If you hang the person, there's no going back and the state sanctioned murder is on all of our consciences, as a nation. Some of the most vociferous opponents of the death penalty are lawyers and judges who are aware of the unnerving incidence of miscarriages of justice.

Regarding the money spent to keep the Ripper in prison, the UK government wastes vast sums of money on many truly horrible and inhumane projects. Doing what's needed to avoid bringing back the death penalty is one of its more sensible decisions.

No, it's 11 million.

The death penalty is barbaric and shouldn't be brought back.

It’s not being superior to be factual. You're the one who didn’t stop to actually think before firing off online. Get MNHQ to edit the post if you don’t like people pointing it out.

Except in real life, "clear cases" don't really exist. All you have is people who have been convicted by a fallible jury (which has all the prejudices and shortcomings of the general population), after having been investigated by a fallible police force.

Miscarriages of justice happen regularly, and there will always be some people who are wrongly convicted. Even with a confession 100% certainty is rarely possible - because innocent people do confess.

Please stop calling him "The Ripper" or variations thereof!

I didn't think you were, hence the question!

For me it's not even a question of people being wrongly convicted, although clearly that's an issue. Neither is it a question of what someone "deserves". I don't think anyone would have been crying over the demise of the Yorkshire Ripper. It's the fact that the government would be saying "killing is wrong, apart from when we do it". Or "killing is wrong, except when you do it to a bad person". It encourages the idea that life is cheap, or that vigilantism is potentially OK because after all, these are bad people. It also affords WAY more power to the government of the day than I would want them to have. Literally the power to choose whether someone lives or dies. No thanks.

Is that the same logic as you would apply to the death penalty? So long as we usually get it right, what does it matter if a few mistakes are made and some innocent people lose their lives along the way? We can brush it off by remembering all the times we didn't make mistakes. 🙄

In theory I agree with the death penalty. I believe it is a legitimate sentence for certain crimes.

However, in practice I don’t think it should be carried out, due to miscarriages of justice, of which there have been too many.

Are you just making stuff up? It wasn't 11 billion, and whole life orders do still exist.

You clearly admire efficiency when it comes to the state killing people. So did Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao Tse Tung and other despots throughout history, such a choice of role models to tell your children about.

People are hanged, not hung.

And I don't care what it cost to keep Sutcliffe in custody.

The death penalty is wrong.

Because the police and the general public only started to care once he moved on from killing sex workers to killing 'nice' girls.

I agree.

The prosecutor, Sir Michael Havers, said during the trial:

'Some were prostitutes but perhaps the saddest part of the case is that some were not. The last six attacks were on totally respectable women.'

Perhaps those so enthused by the death penalty could move somewhere where it still exists.
China, Iran, North Korea?
all lovely this time of year I hear and such bastions of democracy and human rights
Sure you'd all love living there

Jesus, that's awful. The poor families, having to listen to the judge coming out with that.

Unless you can suddenly pass a new law that means this one individual can be given a lethal injection or whatever, then it's just part of the justice system.
We don't have capital punishment here and I'm glad we don't. Housing him in prison is a necessary evil. Should all serial killers be killed off by the state? I'd imagine many people wouldn't argue with that but you can't just change the rules overnight.