Ealing North
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Steve Pound MP Ealing North |
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And they wonder why they're called the Nasty PartyNovember 2003 There’s a technique in politics called “outriding”. The idea is that the Party sends a senior member out with a proposal to test the public reaction. Should the proposal play well with the public then it swiftly becomes official Party policy, if not it is marked down as the personal view of the outrider. I was sorry to see the tactic in play this week when the Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis, announced that he was in favour of the death penalty for certain categories of murder. Apart from the fairly grotesque suggestion that “caring Conservatism” substitutes a lethal injection for the noose I found this whole proposal to be – at least – deeply regrettable. Climbing onto the scaffold isn’t the best way to raise your profile and I hope that David Davis realises now the seriousness of his words. There are only three cases to be made for judicial murder. Deterrence, economy and retribution. We know that the death penalty certainly does not deter. Texas tops the list of executing states in the US and has a rapidly rising murder rate; New York has no death penalty and fewer murders every year. Examples from all over the world confirm that the death penalty merely lessens the respect for life and leads to even more brutality. To execute criminals because it costs money to keep them in jail is an argument that I find beneath contempt. That leaves us with retribution. The Tory Shadow Cabinet voice suggests that only serial killers die. Apart from the obvious problem of defining a serial killer I find that introducing mathematics into the morality of murder is contemptable. The appalling insensitivity of raising the issue in the middle of the heartbreaking Soham murder trial may make many people turn away from David Davis’ words. But we should think about the subject. I firmly believe that no Christian, nor anyone who respects and reveres the unique gift of life, could countenance a return to the dark days of the death penalty. To believe in life is to believe in the possibility of redemption. To deny redemption is to deny our maker. Every time that I make the case for continued abolition I am smugly reminded of the Old Testament lines of “an eye for an eye”. How few people take the trouble to read Matthew 5:39. I don’t assume that all my constituents follow the teachings of the Book but all the major religions that I am familiar with would find an echo in their sacred texts or teachings and I recommend all to read Christ’s words. I also hope that we have moved on a little from a world in which our only response to horror is yet more horror. |
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| Disclaimer | Copyright | Designed by Bassam Mahfouz. Promoted by Julian Bell, The Labour Party, Ruskin Hall, 16 Church Road, W3 8PP on behalf of Steve Pound MP |
