Death Penalty

A poll run by Harris Interactive for Metro Newspaper today found that 50% of those polled would back the reintroduction of the death penalty.

This follows on from a poll run by the Sun newspaper, back in February 2008, that found a staggering 99% of their readers backed the death penalty.

I can't possibly see how this can be representative of the UK population at large. I would not be against a debate in parliament should it be deemed necessary - one of the cornerstones of democracy is that all views are represented and considered on an equal footing - but I hope that we never return to a society that advocates an 'eye for an eye' style of justice.

I have been to a number of very good lectures and talks on this issue and both sides were persuasive (though I never changed my mind - I do not believe in the death penalty for anyone regardless of the crime). However, the most interesting and thought provoking was a 2006 lecture given by a former American death rower, Nick Yarris, who was pardoned after 23 years on death row.

I would hope that Nick's story, and the many other instances of individuals being wrongly incarcerated, would be enough to sway many of those who were polled by Harris Interactive to change their minds.