A few journalists in the UK have espoused the merits of re-introducing hanging of vicious murderers which they contend would discourage others from murdering

 Hang it!  Here we go again  - Peter Hitchens  29 April 2013

“I favour hanging because of its extreme swiftness when efficiently carried out, combined with its huge moral force.  There are many arguments for the death penalty beginning with the placing a special value on human life, moving on to deterrence.  Beneath all those arguments lies a religious question (this is the case with most major issues of our time).

If man has no soul, and this is the only life we have, and there is no eternity, nor any divine justice, then the only arguments for the death penalty are utilitarian ones. In an age of unbelief, I tend to concentrate on the utilitarian ones. But even those lead me to the view that the act of execution, while not being actively cruel or involving mental or physical torture, should be frightening and violent, rather than pseudo-medical.  I would be cowardly if I did not say this. I do not enjoy saying it, or thinking it. But those who wish to have anything to do with standing between the populace and evil must sometimes face directly the unpleasant duties that may fall on them. The main reason for the abolition of the death penalty is the squeamishness of politicians, who enjoy office but do not like all the duties which power loads on to their (often rather narrow) shoulders.  Far easier to them to leave the matter to some trembling constable with a gun in a dark street, who can be disavowed if it all goes wrong later.  

The use of medical-seeming methods also tends to support the idea that crime is a disease rather than a willful act of conscious evil.  I formed this view when I witnessed an execution by lethal injection.”  

Why bringing back hanging is the right thing to do - Stephen Pollard, - Sat, Jun 25, 2011

             “A poll in the U.K. in September 2010 found that 51 per cent supported reinstating the death penalty for murder, compared with 37 per cent who oppose it.”

Why Do People Get So Worked Up About the Death Penalty? - Peter Hitchens  17 Aug 2015

50 years after the last execution in Britain, people still tend to support the reintroduction of the death penalty, by 45-39% - 2014

Mr B. Jones, M.P., Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates (H of R)  23 Nov 1978, 3293:

Punishment is a cherished part of the Australian way of life. It is a concept that Australians understand and warm to. The last remnant of the puritan ethic is the sense that everyone who goes to prison deserves to be there and that conditions ought to be tough, otherwise offenders will prefer the security and comfort of prison to the hazards of life outside .... Australia began as a convict settlement and penology was its primary industry for 50 years. Our penal birthstains and convict ancestry has not—the ‘mateship’ legend to the contrary—given much sympathy for prisoners. They are not seen as victims of society, but as outlaws, people who have declared war on society.[49]

Avery Dulles, in his book "Catholicism and Capital Punishment, First Things" 2001 notes:

 "….. executions, especially where they are painful, humiliating, and public, may create a sense of horror that would prevent others from being tempted to commit similar crimes”

The current method of execution in Texas USA of a vicious murderer who displayed no compassion for his/her victim/s, evidences political correctness leaning too far to the left.  Rather than being hung by the neck with several witnesses present, and public announcement of it, the convicted murderer is discretely injected with a poison to ensure a painless death; a concession often not granted to his/her victim/s  

Question

Does the current quiet sanctuary afforded at execution in Texas deter other potential transgressors to the same degree that the supporters of Jesus of Nazareth witnessed in the painful lead-up to Jesus’ ultimate death on public display on a wooden cross that Jesus had to drag from town centre wearing a crown of thorns whilst being whipped?   

Answer

A painless injection in a quiet and private preserve does not instil the same deterrent effect deployed 2,000 years' ago to discourage similar transgressions. 

 

 

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