Thinking Outside the Cell     Defined Terms     Baker's Dozen Problems    Articles & Reports - Bibliography    W-W-W-W-H-HM   TB-IB-TC-IC   Filicide   Annexure A   Petition   Section B   Invitation to read Thinking Outside the Cell

Discussion Paper - Thinking Outside the Cell

Reduce criminal activity (across Level 1 to Level 6 of the Penalty Scale) in Australia by 9.5% circa within three years of implementation of the recommendations within Thinking Outside the Cell, with a commensurate reduction in both inmate numbers in prisons and the $18.431b expended on Australia's Justice Sector in 2018-19:

*     33 to 38 fewer murders annually

*     1,300 to 1,500 fewer reported rapes annually

In rudimentary terms, the two recommendations herein essentially equate to reverting to the Punishments Sentenced until the early 1940's in Australian State and Territory courts because the -

a)    lawmakers 80 years ago circa, our 'Forefather Governors', had a better understanding of Punishments that quantifiably Deterred committing crimes across Level 1 to Level 6 of the Penalty Scale; and

b)    Western society has jumped ahead along Homo sapiens 'punishment/development curve' due to the recent scourge of illicit drug use. 

Locking squillions of felons into tiny steel cages within The University of Crime is a failed and exceedingly costly Punishment and Deterrent that Many Eminent Authorities Have Chronicled and countries, particularly in Scandinavia, understand and resile from.

The plethora of evidence herein patently establishes that over the last 80 years Australian politicians, and criminal justice bureaucrats, have not possessed the fortitude to implement proven Sentences of frightening Punishment that demonstrably reduce murders.  It is a lot easier for squeamish politicians to commit murderers that take the lives of mothers and their children to a tiny steel cage at $175,000 pa. each until they die.

QUESTION:

Are you genuinely interested in substantially reducing all Levels of criminal activity, the associated numbers of felons confined to tiny steel cages, too often Sentenced there 'til their death at a staggeringly high cost to the taxpayer, year after year, after year? 
Please display courage and commitment to complete the Peer Review Form to opine on this Thinking Outside the Cell Discussion Paper.
Unfortunately less than half of 1% of the Australian population possess requisite comprehension and capacity/skills to read and respond to the Peer Review Form. 

If you materially disagree with the below explained 'Two Pronged' change to Punishment and Rehabilitation of criminal offenders, the Peer Review Form provides amply scope for readers to enunciate their views/beliefs.

Even if a handful of resolute Australians cared about the destructive psychological damage of 40,000+ inmates contemporaneously being housed in tiny steel cages, and the associated cost upon the Public Purse, a lot more of that Purse could be expended on child care, aged care, hospitals, teachers etc. and job creation to the material benefit of Australia's Balance of Payments on Current Account.

Maintaining Law and Order amidst -

(i)     lingering COVID-19 virus mutation strains impacted upon jail incarceration and rehabilitation programs;

(ii)    Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Prison Problems;

(iii)   resultant crippling Fiscal Revenues; and

(iv)   Australia's whacko Recidivism rates,

now necessitate opining upon this Thinking Outside the Cell Discussion Paper (prepared by Philip Johnston, Sydney NSW) 
Click on the myriad of embedded threads in coloured or underlined text herein

Thinking Outside the Cell entails a 'Two Pronged' change to Punishment and Rehabilitation of criminal offenders to once again, revert to Sentencing proven frightening Punishments that demonstrably Deter criminal activity from youth armed theft, right up to future murders akin to -

1.    a male raping and killing his female partner and then killing two of her young children;

2.    a future John Travers, convicted ringleader of the Anita Cobby rape/murder in 1986;

3.    a father murdering his three infant children, mother and their maternal grandmother - "Perth mass murderer Anthony Harvey gets historic sentence for stabbing his family to death";

4.    Robert Xie who bludgeoned to death his brother, his brother's wife, two children and his brother's wife's sister;

5.    Schoolgirls such as young Charlise Mutten being brutally murdered and her body dumped in a river. 

COVID-19 caused prison authorities to leave prisoners in their cells, thereby deteriorating the incarcerator's mental well-being. The Dark Cloud of COVID-19 enabled a silver lining, as Australian State and Territory -

A.    lawmakers are now more compelled to implement other crime-Deterrent  Punishments that should have been re-introduced many moons ago, because of the Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems within the Australian Prison System, particularly the density of reports that Jail Incarceration is a failed and costly Deterrent to committing crimes; and

B.    State treasurers no longer have the budget funds to pour into prisons because -
*      the fiscal cupboards are bare; and
*      health, education and transportation of taxpayers and future taxpayers is a higher priority.

"Imprisonment has, at best, no effect on the rate of reoffending and often results in a greater rate of recidivism."  Hence, by not repeating the punishment mistake of the recent past, because costly prison incarceration is NOT an effective Deterrent to committing crimes, the afore-mentioned patent flaws in relying exclusively on prison incarceration for Level 1 to Level 6 crimes on the Penalty Scale NOW behoove the -
*      six State Premiers;
*      Administrator of Northern Territory; and
*      Chief Minister of Australian Capital Territory,
to legislate Punishments and Deterrents that will -
a)    materially reduce criminal activity (across Level 1 to Level 6 of the Penalty Scale);

b)    commensurately reduce inmate numbers in prisons - 43,028 adult prisoners in jails across Australia as at 30 June 2019; and

c)    manifestly decrease the $18.431b expended on Australia's Justice Sector in 2018-19 (almost $19.7 billion in 2019-20 [table CA.1], an increase of 5.5 per cent from the previous year).  $4,415,968,000 ($4.416b) net operating annual expenditure on Corrective Services in 2018-19.  And $5.09 billion in 2019-20. "Spending on the Australian criminal justice system is the highest it has ever been with governments spending $21 billion in 2021-2022 alone. The construction and maintenance of prisons cost the Australian taxpayer over $6 billion in the last year – an increase in $2 billion over the past five years. This equates to $405 per prisoner per day, or $147,900 per year. It is expected that this number will continue to increase as does the number of prisoners. Australian prisons are almost at 100 per cent capacity and new facilities will need to be built in order to house the growing number of prisoners."

Sentencing proven frightening Punishments will keep a lot of younger offenders out of The University of Crime with its Rapidly Revolving Door - away from the prison conveyor belt cycling in and out and thereby reduce the unjustifiable $18.431b  2018-19 Justice Sector burden on the Public Purse that other countries better assign their Public Purse to health, education and transportation of taxpayers and future taxpayers.

Australia should follow the lead of other countries that have re-introduced a crime Deterrent-effective, cost-effective Punishment that empirically has reduced a), b) and c) above.

QUESTION:

Why do Australian State and Territory Govt's fund costly Legal Inquests into shocking murders and the state of Australia's prisons, when the same Govt authorities that are adept at expending the Public Purse, are inept at implementing those costly Inquest's findings, particularly about the need for substantive prison reform?

ANSWER:

Articles & Reports - Bibliography chronicles over 400 papers, reports, journals etc that invariably delve into only a few, or even only one, of Australia's multi-faceted Criminal Justice System issues/problems that extend back over 200 years.  None of the 400+ papers, reports, journals have sought to explain Australia's Criminal Justice System in its entirety and recommend remedies to -

*      demonstrably Deter criminal activity; and

*      substantially reduce the $18.431b expended on Australia's Justice Sector in 2018-19 that increased to $19,651 in 2019-20

The mainstream of bureaucrats, politicians and academics lack the skills and/or vigour to understand each and every primary facet, starting with Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems and the Judicial Corporal Punishment for Adults in Australia until the mid-1940s, in particular Punishments Sentenced in the final 30 years by Australia's 'Forefather Governors', to complete the Peer Review Form to thereby opine on this Thinking Outside the Cell Discussion Paper -  refer "g)  People that have spoken in favour of Capital Punishment" further below.

The Peer Review Form -

A.    provides for the Peer Reviewer to evidence that s/he expended the four or five hours to understand the assertions made and recommendations presented in this Discussion Paper; and

B.    enables the Peer Reviewer to criticise, dispute and debate any/every assertion within this Thinking Outside the Cell.      

This Discussion Paper behooves Australia's State and Territory Ministers that are responsible for Australia's Criminal Justice System to chronicle a response to Thinking Outside the Cell, commencing with judicial administrators completing the Peer Review Form for perusal by their respective State, Territory and Commonwealth Ministers.

The virus COVID reduced the prison capacity (inmate numbers) and materially increased the administrative cost of Australia's 92 government operated and 10 privately operated prisons due to excessively deployed 'solitary confinement' that has interrupted rehabilitation programmes, as well as the resultant significant adverse mental health effects upon thousands of inmates that have endured up to 22 hrs a day in a tiny cell, without phone, TV, radio or any social contact, to protect the Brand Name of the pertinent prison against COVID.  Only a few hours to shower and exercise alone (lift weights, throw a basketball), then back to 'solitary confinement' in a tiny cell, for weeks or months.  That is unconscionable excessive isolation treatment of fellow human beings to safeguard the Brand Name of prisons.

Why expend well over $4 billion annually on Corrective Services across Australia's State and Territories because of an incapacity for those entrusted to understand a complex problem that, given sufficient effort and energy, can be dissected, understood and materially improved?  For those that aren't numerate, $4 billion is four thousand million dollars - a lot of Public Purse dollars that should be expended on the health, education and transportation of tax payers and future taxpayers consistent with many of our major trading partners.

Size and scope of serious criminal activity, imprisonment numbers/costs and recidivism rates

*     In the 28 years from June 1990 to June 2018 there were 8,126 reported incidents of homicide in Australia at an average rate of 280 homicides annually.

*     Nationally at 30 June 2018, Corrective Services operated 118 custodial facilities, comprising:

*    92 government operated prisons,

*    10 privately operated prisons,

*    four transitional centres, and

*    twelve 24 hour court cell complexes (holding prisoners under the responsibility of Corrective Services in NSW - table 8A.3).

*     Productivity Commission report titled Section 8 'Corrective services' noted in 2017-18 net operating expenditure on Corrective Services (prisons and other correctional facilities) across Australia, including depreciation, was $4.416 billion - a real increase of 35% from five years earlier in 2012-13

*     During the same five year period, the Australian population increased from 23.13 million at June 2013 by 1.86 million to 24.99 million at June 2018 - an increase of 8.05%  

*     There were 142 first degree murders in the 12 months to 30 June 2018, excluding the ACT and persons charged with murder that committed suicide, or died of natural causes, before a court hearing. 

*     Between 2018 and 2019, the number of victims of homicide and related offences (those murdered, attempted murder and manslaughter) in Australia increased by 10% (39 victims) to 416 victims. 

*     There were 43,028 adult prisoners in jails across Australia as at 30 June 2019.  At 30 June 2012, there were 29,383 inmates in Australian prisons.  That is an increase of 13,645 (46.44%) inmates in a mere seven years.  In 2018-19 the national imprisonment rate was 219 per 100,000 people across the Australian adult population - an increase of 29.95% since 2008‑09. Penal Populism triggered that extraordinary increase in a mere 10 years.

*      A year later, 41,060 inmates were incarcerated in Australia's state and territory prisons at 30 June 2020 - Table 1 cell S7.  1,000 inmates were serving a Sentence of '20 years and over', 'Life Sentence' or 'Other' - Table 12 cell Q43.

*     Recidivism among prisoners is the rate that released prisoners return to prison.  Across Australia, 46.4% of prisoners released during 2016-17 returned to prison within two years (to 2018-19).  Patently prison is not a Deterrent, rather for a not insignificant cohort of the population; for many institutionalised it is an attraction to further criminal activity. Statistics don't lie.

Impact of COVID-19

*       COVID-19 penetrated many prisons in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Italy, India, Russia, England 'et al'.  In the litigious USA, lawyers have lodged 'statements of claim' against pertinent state and municipal government prisons seeking damages on behalf of adversely affected inmates for refusing to take adequate remedial actions resulting in breaches of inmates' human rights.

*       Corrections Victoria reports instances of prisoners and prison staff that have tested positive to coronavirus and preventative actions implemented, including contact tracing and thorough cleaning.

*      What are the consequences of COVID-19 getting into prisons? - Human Rights Law Centre, Australia.

*        Why prisons in Victoria are locked up and locked down - The Conversation - July 23, 2020.

COVID prevention measures within Australia's prisons have increased annual Administrative Costs:

•   All new prisoners are tested and required to spend 14 days in protective quarantine, regardless of coronavirus risk.

•   Personal visits remain suspended, while staff and professional visitors are screened and temperature checked prior to entering a facility.

•   Anyone entering a prison or facility, including staff, service providers, professional visitors and contactors, continue to be required to wear a face mask at all times while on site.

•   Physical distancing measures, increased hygiene standards and use of personal protective equipment.

*     Advocates demand an end to solitary confinement for at-risk prisoners.

*     Prison lockdowns cannot be the solution to preventing COVID-19 outbreak - 27th Aug 2020

*     Some prisoners are spending 22 hours a day in solitary confinement during COVID's lock down, lawyers allege.

*     The $4.415 billion total net operating expenditure on prisons and community corrections 2017-'18 will be 14% to 16% higher (two years later) for the 2019-'20 financial year due to labour intensive solitary confinement practices observed to mitigate COVID-19, even though COVID-19 only impacted the final four months of 2019-'20. Total net operating expenditure on prisons will rise by a further 10% during the 2020-21 financial year, again caused by solitary confinement practices observed to mitigate COVID-19.

*      Andrews Government must reduce the number of people in prisons as part of response to COVID-19  -  Human Rights Law Centre, Australia  July 20, 2020. 

*      Federal Government deficit hits record high of $86 billion as coronavirus devastates the economy - ABC News - 23 July 2020

*      Ipso facto, State and Territory Govts now need to Sentence other Punishments that successfully Deter criminal behaviour.

Prison incarceration is a highly costly form of Punishment and an utterly cost-ineffective Deterrent

*     Accredited USA, UK and Australia newspaper articles call for prison reform because incarceration is a failed and costly crime Deterrent.

*     Long prison sentences are counter-productive to Rehabilitation "......... in a highly structured yet socially threatening environment, (a long jail sentence) is bound to lead to significant personality changes.  Particularly for anyone concerned about prisoner welfare and how to rehabilitate former convicts, the worry is that these personality changes, while they may help the prisoner survive their jail time, are counter-productive for their lives upon release."

*     First World Countries reliance on Prison Incarceration to Punish and Deter in the pursuit of Law and Order has been the greatest Societal Blunder of the 20th Century.

'Two Pronged' change to Punishment and Rehabilitation of criminal offenders to reduce crime, keep a lot of younger offenders out of The University of Crime with its Rapidly Revolving Door and thereby materially reduce the unsustainable burden on the Public Purse

*     A 'Two Pronged' change to Punishment and Rehabilitation of criminal offenders.  Inter alia fewer "eligible longer sentence inmates" will re-offend because after suffering a frightening Sentence of Corporal Punishment, and prior to custodial release, secure satisfying employment (for a minimum of three months) and stable accommodation would be arranged by caseworkers to provide psychological Light at the End of the Tunnel (enabled by Supportive ASX 200 Companies) based inter alia on the Scandinavian precedents in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

*     Forecast reduction in (i) crimes committed, (ii) inmates in jails and (iii) expenditure on the Justice System, from implementing the below two recommendations in this Discussion Paper, are set out towards the end of this Discussion Paper:

      1.     'Two Pronged' change to Punishment and Rehabilitation of criminal offenders

      2.     offering inmates identified or sentenced Never To Be Released assisted dying by lethal injection.

*     A portion of the material expenditure cost savings from re-implementing the 'Two Pronged' change to Punishment and Rehabilitation could be diverted to two dedicated 'caseworker' administered programmes.

Key Findings from this Discussion Paper

Corporal Punishment was Sentenced in Australia to adult males until the early 1940s. "In Queensland, whipping stayed ‘on the books’ in the Criminal Code until the mid-1980s."

A lengthy Sentence of jail incarceration as Punishment for the majority of criminal offences (from Level 1 to Level 6 of the Penalty Scale) as outlined in the Sentencing Act 1991 - Victoria is not crime Deterrent-effective or cost-effective expenditure of the Public Purse.  

In fact, the opposite is the case, as over 50% of inmates released from The University of Crime at Australia's state and territory prisons, return to prison in slightly over 2 years, largely due to the loss of life sustaining skills that inmates are often confronted by upon release from a highly institutionalised environment, namely" institutionalised personality traits", including" distrusting others, difficulty engaging in relationships [and] hampered decision-making".

The average cost per inmate serving a Sentence of Life Without Parole (based on the average annual cost of Maximum Security Incarceration in 2019) across 76 Heinous Murderers that murdered 200 Australians (profiled in Section B) over the last 30 years is $7,000,559 per inmate.  The total cost of Maximum Security Incarceration across these 76 Heinous Murderers will be a smidgeon over half a billion Australian dollars.  Yet as at 30 June 2019, 2,088 inmates were serving a Sentence of '20 years and over', 'Life Sentence' or 'Other', that includes 1,790 that have been convicted of Murder.  The strain on the Public Purse to incarcerate nearly all of these 76 Heinous Murderers (profiled in Section B) until they die in a prison cell is merely the tip of a large iceberg beneath.

The various Australian State and Territory Governments need to learn from the Sentences imposed by predecessor Australian governments (from 1900 to 1969 when an average of 1.85 convicted murderers were executed annually, albeit a smaller Australian population), as well as from the majority of global countries that do not deploy jail incarceration as the primary form of Punishment and Deterrent for Sadistic, Brutal, Heinous Often Unprovoked Crimes, if Australia is to materially reduce -

a)       future criminal activity, not limited to the 142 first degree murders in the 12 months to 30 June 2018, rape, Femicide & Filicide, Street Gang Theft, drug trafficking, culpable driving causing death, serial conman/embezzlement; insider trading;

b)       the Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems is testimony that the more recent Warehouse Sentencing in some western countries, driven by Penal Populism, has failed Dozenly; and

c)       the associated substantive $4.416b net operating annual expenditure on Corrective Services in 2018-19, where -
          *       prison incarceration accounts for 85%; and
          *       community correctional facilities 15%.

Prelude 

Below is an extract from Chapter 3 of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee report titled 'Value of a justice reinvestment approach to criminal justice in Australia' dated June 2013:

3.31 The increase in prisoner numbers is putting financial strain on the Australian justice system, which is quickly becoming unsustainable. Released prisoners are

finding it difficult to find work and are facing multiple barriers to reintegrating with society. In addition, the removal of an individual from a community or family can

have long lasting effects, as well as increasing financial burden. Due to the overcrowding of prisons, prisoner health is deteriorating and those health issues are

being transferred to society with the release of prisoners. Governments need to address the long term economic and social costs of imprisonment to prevent further

development of intergenerational offending, and occurrences of recidivism.

Below is an extract from "CORRECTIONAL SERVICES IN AUSTRALIA - YEAR IN REVIEW & 2018 OUTLOOK" produced by legal firm, Corrs, Chambers, Westgarth:

"Correctional Services attracts media headlines, political scrutiny and fierce debate across the nation. With 112 custodial facilities holding over 41,000 people at a cost of approximately $3.7 billion, it’s little wonder that there is intense focus in Australia on whether this investment can be justified by the outcomes.  More fundamentally, we need to question whether there is any broad consensus within society on -
*      what these outcomes ought to be; and
*      what level of resources should be expended to achieve them."

Recognised Australian Punishment Historians hold similar views about the damaging psychological effects when confronted by a long jail sentence "to serve your time" as Punishment.

e)    Imprisonment has, at best, no effect on the rate of reoffending

Below are two extracts from the Sentencing Advisory Council's paper titled Does Imprisonment Deter?  A Review of the Evidence dated April 2011:

"The evidence from empirical studies of deterrence suggests that the threat of imprisonment generates a small general deterrent effect. However, the research also indicates that increases in the severity of penalties, such as increasing the length of terms of imprisonment, do not produce a corresponding increase in deterrence."

"The research shows that imprisonment has, at best, no effect on the rate of reoffending and is often criminogenic, resulting in a greater rate of recidivism by imprisoned offenders compared with offenders who received a different sentencing outcome."

Two recent BBC Future articles provide compelling evidence that long-term incarceration is counterproductive to cost-effective Rehabilitation, but rather institutionalises inmates contributing to Recidivism.

f)    Reconsidering traditional custodial sentencing policies and practices

Below are extracts from Reconsidering traditional custodial sentencing policies and practices - John Nicholson SC  -  2018:

"Gaol is not a place where people are likely to be reformed; indeed, the opposite is more likely. Nor is it a place where the sick are likely to have their health restored, the uneducated to achieve learning, or the maladjusted or mentally unwell to find healthy realignment.

Given that gaol accomplishes so little – usually, punishment of and/or community protection from an offender for the duration of the sentence’s non-parole period – it should be reserved only for those whose crime is so severe as to require punishment, notwithstanding the adverse consequences of gaol, or those whose criminal conduct demonstrates an antisocial personality so defiant that the community will require long-term protection from them.

We have inherited a system of sentencing from our forefathers. Many aspects of it are still barbaric. It is a costly and inefficient means of reducing crime. We can do better. Known for its adherence to precedence, the law encourages lawyers and judges to look back at the past – not as a means of understanding its failures, but rather of adhering to its past decisions. Other disciplines such as medicine, architecture, engineering, communication and science are not so absorbed in the past as to be blind to the future. The time has come for those responsible for the future path of the criminal justice system to look closely at how we treat those who have offended to obtain better results in terms of diminishing criminal conduct. "

Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems, in particular Material Public Purse Prison Costs, dictate that the Deterrent rationale of Corporal Punishment that Homo sapiens has lived under for well over 100,000 years and was Previously Sentenced In Australia needs to be re-introduced; prescribing less than half the punishment strokes of Judicial Corporal Punishment previously sentenced to adults in Australia until the mid-1940s - refer to Judicial Corporal Punishment in Australia -

A.      to Deter others from similarly transgressing for Suitable Male Criminals and for most Criminal Activities, except Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Crimes; but

B.      limited to the Number of Punishment Strokes in the Pilot Stage of the Re-introduction of Corporal Punishment to Adults in Australia.

g)    An Infliction of Corporal Punishment to adults will cut prison Sentences in half

Rather than a convicted criminal being Sentenced to say 12 years jail with a non-parole period of say seven years for Trafficking in a drug of dependence (not a commercial quantity) - Level 4, depending on the Nature Of The Crime, and the Prisoner's State Of Mind, Age And Sex, the presiding judge could observe the Four Gears of Early Rehabilitation and Release and Sentence the convicted criminal to:

Half the above jail sentence, namely six years jail with a non-parole period of 3½ years, plus -
*      six lashes with the Cat 'O Nine Tails across the bare back; and
*      six canings with the Australian Rattan across the bare buttocks,
inflicted in toto within the initial two months after any legal appeals are heard and determined.

Immediately upon dispensement of Sentenced  Corporal Punishment, then Rehabilitation would commence incorporating Education and Vocational Training to instil self-belief and optimism due to the opportunity for a chance at a paid job, thereby expediting custodial release back into the community by utilising an Electronic Monitoring Device as taxpayers into an employed job for a minimum of three months offered by Supportive ASX 200 Companies. 

Such Rehabilitation needs to follow the Restorative Justice models successfully implemented in -
A.    Scandinavia since the late 20th century,
B.    Texas Justice Reinvestment,
C.    San Pedro prison, Bolivia - a prison with no locks; and
D.    San Patrignano, Northern Italy,

in particular Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses with Specialist Drug & Alcohol Treatment.

Cognizant that Australian jails are bursting at the seams and High recidivism/re-offending rates, the Number of Punishment Strokes In the Pilot Stage of the Re-introduction of Corporal Punishment tabulates the number of 'condition precedent' Corporal Punishment Flogging with the Cat 'O Nine Tails and the Australian Rattan prior to prison psychologists/case workers supervising a dedicated Rehabilitation program that adopts aspects of the -

*         Restorative Justice Model Successfully Adopted in Scandinavia since the late 20th century; and

*        Texas Justice Reinvestment initiative.

At the tail of this Discussion Paper Four Gears forecasts inter alia the material reduction in the current $4.416b circa annual cost of the Australian Prison System upon the Public Purse (by also re-introducing Capital Punishment described below in 2nd Prong) by replacing approx half of current Jail Sentences with a Swift, Frightening and a Painful Dose of Corporal Punishment for Non-Murderous Crimes for Suitable Male Criminals. 

Administrative Costs savings should not be underestimated by the -

(a)        'politically correct left' civil libertarians that cannot countenance Corporal Punishment to adults, but lack the capacity, or interest, to watch CCTV footage of hundreds of crimes each year that could be significantly discouraged through the re-introduction of Corporal Punishment, nor the fact that "warehousing the problem" results in the Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems; or

(b)        proponents of Tough on Crime that fail to ponder the Material Public Purse Prison Costs of their short-sighted foolishness, too often driven by radio audience ratings.

Four Gears forecasts that income tax receipts would increase due to more released "longer-Sentence inmates" gaining meaningful employment, initially with one of the Supportive ASX 200 Companies based inter alia on the Scandinavian precedents in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland which is compelling reading.

h)    Two recent fatalities of innocent Australians would have been far less likely if Corporal Punishment is a consequence of reckless driving

On 12 Aug 2019, Ms. Gitta Scheenhouwer, 27, was cycling in South Yarra, on her way to her architect job.  She was killed when Michael Panayides crashed a stolen Mercedes-Benz SUV while dangerously trying to overtake another car.  Michael Panayides was drug-affected and sped at 80km/h in a 40km/h zone when he tried to get past a Mitsubishi Lancer on the left-hand side, and slammed into the Lancer and a parked car.  Rather than serving 10 years jail as Punishment for Culpable driving causing death -  Level 3 criminal offence, Michael Panayides, could be Sentenced to say 5 years jail with a non-parole period of say 3½ years.  Depending on the Nature Of The Crime, and the Prisoner's State Of Mind, Age And Sex, the presiding judge could observe the Four Gears of Early Rehabilitation and Release and Sentence Michael Panayides to:

Approx. half the above jail sentence, namely five and a half years jail with a non-parole period of 3½ years, plus -
*      five lashes with the Cat 'O Nine Tails across the bare back; and
*      five canings with the Australian Rattan across the bare buttocks,
inflicted in toto within the initial two months after any legal appeals are heard and determined.

Approaching 8pm on Sat 2nd Feb 2020, Samuel Davidson, 29, driving a 4 wheel drive whilst three times over the legal alcohol limit, mounted a footpath at Oatlands, Western Sydney and struck and killed four children that were walking to nearby shops to purchase ice creams.  Samuel Davidson has been charged with 11 offences over the incident, including manslaughter and high-range drink driving.  As four innocent children were killed, Davidson will likely receive up to 16 years' jail as Punishment as a Level 3 criminal offence under the Penalty Scale.

Under the Discussion Paper's Recommended changes to Sentencing under criminal law ............., and tabulated in Number of Punishment Strokes, Samuel Davidson would receive a Sentence of up to 8 years' jail and -

*         eight lashes with the Cat 'O Nine Tails across the bare back; and

*         eight canings with the Australian Rattan across the bare buttocks,

struck with the same intensity that was applied in Australia's early punishment history as chronicled in Judicial Corporal Punishment previously sentenced to adults in Australia until the mid-1940s.

On the afternoon of Tues 26 Jan 2021 a Queensland couple, Kate Leadbetter and Matty Field, were walking their dogs in Alexandra Hills, Brisbane when they were struck and killed by a stolen car just before 5.30pm.  A 17-year-old Waterford West boy has been charged with -
a)       two counts of murder,
b)       one count of dangerous operation of a vehicle (adversely affected by an intoxicating substance),
c)       two counts of burglary and one count each of unlawful use of a motor vehicle; and
d)       attempted unlawful use of a motor vehicle.  

The likelihood of future tragic accidents that befell this young Queensland couple, that were expecting the birth of their child in three months, would be materially lower if the 17-year-old Waterford West boy, if found guilty, was Sentenced to a term in a Qld jail, and upon turning 18 years of age, received:

*         six lashes with the Cat 'O Nine Tails across the bare back; and

*         six canings with the Australian Rattan across the bare buttocks.

In accordance with Number Of Punishment Strokes In The Pilot Stage Of The Re-introduction Of Corporal Punishment for adults in Australia for Suitable Male Criminals where the Sentenced  Flogging (Corporal Punishment) exceeds four strokes in toto (exceeds two lashes and two canings) being for Level 4 up to Level 2 criminal offences, the aggregate Sentenced  Corporal Punishment would be inflicted one month apart until the Sentence has been carried out.

Australian society needs to revert to fear-provoking cost-effective Corporal Punishments that previously successfully Deterred a lot of such criminal behaviour by making susceptible people 'think twice', particularly citizens, often through no fault of their own, that have been less fortunate in -

*        the genes they received in the womb;

*        the parental mentoring that they often did not receive; and

*        the education that they did not gain.

i)    Punishment needs to be "....predictable, applied at maximum intensity to be effective and dispensed swiftly...." if it going to Deter criminal behaviour

The fundamental failing of Australia's Criminal Justice System is that Sentences of Punishment by jail incarceration have not proven an effective Deterrent against further comparable criminal transgressions.  Australian males with a similar mindset to Samuel Davidson would be far less likely to get behind the wheel upon accruing a blood alcohol level of 0.15 circa, after becoming aware of Samuel Davidson and others' being flogged to within an inch of their life over the initial weeks of a 7 to 10 years jail Sentence. 

Once Punishment that is "....predictable, applied at maximum intensity to be effective and dispensed swiftly....", our prisons can become institutions of Rehabilitation based upon:

*     Restorative Justice Model Successfully Adopted in Scandinavia since the late 20th Century; and 

*     Texas Justice Reinvestment, in particular Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses with Specialist Drug & Alcohol Treatment.

40% approx of lower level crime goes undetected/unreported to police. Over 50% of 'sexual assault' is undetected/unreported to police.  Potent Deterrents are also required to reduce the quantum of undetected/unreported crime.

RTV evidence of Crooks Being Caught is also cogent cost-effective method to Deter crime, particularly at the smaller end of the Naughtiness Spectrum.

j)    Dignified and righteous virtues of the South Australian Branch of the Howard League for Penal Reform ".... education, of humane prison conditions, of dedicated social and prison workers..." have not materialised, partially due to the subsequent illicit drug scourge and overcrowding due to Tough on Crime proponents

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA - A Memorandum by the South Australian Branch of the Howard League for Penal Reform dated Oct 1961 set out the Noble Ambitions for Desisting Corporal Punishment in South Australia.  Alas, 60 years later the Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems Within Australian Prison System evidence that the dignified, righteous virtues and aspirations of the South Australian Branch of the Howard League for Penal Reform in the middle of the last century have not materialised, in some measure due to the subsequent illicit drug scourge which could not have been envisaged in the mid-20th century.

Western society has jumped ahead along the punishment/deterrent curve ostensibly due to the illicit drug scourge.

Queensland MP, George Christensen, wants corporal punishment in Australia for drug crime - SBS News - July 2015

k)   Readers that disagree that Corporal Punishment for adults will materially Deter crime, as it discourages in three adjacent Commonwealth of Nations Countries in South East Asia, can chronicle their reason/s and rationale in the Peer Review Form

Anyone uncomfortable about a return of Sentences of a Flogging to adults should expend 30 mins viewing some of the Recent TV News Crime Clips on YouTube, because costly slaps on the wrist that Clog the Criminal Justice System, in particular Police resources and Judicial courts, haven't Deterred the array of criminal activity therein, in particular teenager theft and assault. Rather they have contributed extensively to the $18.431b expended on Australia's Justice Sector in 2018-19.  

The author of this Discussion Paper invites any reader that expends at least 60 mins watching the majority of the above referenced crime YouTubes and still disagrees with the need for our State and Territory Governments to revert to the Corporal Punishments Sentenced by our 'forefather governors' - less than 80 years ago, but limited to the Number of Punishment Strokes In the Pilot Stage of the Re-introduction of Corporal Punishment with the Cat 'O Nine Tails and the Australian Rattan, prior to prison psychologists/case workers supervising a dedicated Rehabilitation program, to respond in the Peer Review Form his/her reason/s and rationale if s/he disfavours judges Sentencing such Deterrent-effective and cost-effective Corporal Punishments.

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2nd Prong  -  A return to Capital Punishment for the most heinous, monstrous criminals - applying an extrapolation of the rate/frequency of hangings that occurred during the final 30 years (between 1940 and 1969 inclusive) that the death penalty was Sentenced in Australia equate to One, Two or perhaps Three executions annually in 2022

a)    The number of murders, murderers, previous hanging rates and the high cost of Maximum Security Incarceration - a review of 76 Heinous Murderers that murdered 200 innocent people in Australia during the last 35 years

43,028 inmates were incarcerated in Australia's state and territory prisons at 30 June 2019.   

Life Sentence (What is a life sentence?) notes that as at 30 June 2019, 2,088 of those inmates were serving a Sentence of '20 years and over', 'Life Sentence' or 'Other'.   A year later there were 2,552 inmates serving a Sentence of '20 years and over', 'Life Sentence' or 'Other' - Table 12 cell M43.

Early Capital Punishment practices globally were brutal to deliver a message to the populous not to similarly transgress, because if you do, expect the same frightening, painful, drawn out death.  Ipso facto, the overriding focus/intent of rulers, chieftains, sovereigns, monarchs that Sentenced Early Capital Punishment practices was Deterrence.  Empirical evidence establishes that Deterring others from similarly transgressing has unexplainably NOT been a priority in the last 50+ years.  Those early rulers, chieftains, sovereigns, monarchs knew the Hot Buttons that Deterred crime.

Below is an extract from Digger History - Punishment in the Colonial Days:

"Military justice in colonial days was harsh. Execution was common. Lashes (being struck with a whip) were administered in the hundreds at a time and sometimes the prisoner died as a result. He was often scarred for life. Often the whip was the dreaded "cat 'o nine tails" which was a whip with nine separate woven tails with a knot and three strands at the end of each one.

Punishment issued to Soldiers was in some instances far more severe than that of the convicts . Up to 1,500 lashes were issued as punishment. Although that many was rare, it did occur, not many lived following. (An example was 300 lashes issued to a soldier for being absent from duty). Execution was also common and in some cases was carried out after the lash had been administered."

Capital Punishment was Sentenced in Australia from 1790 to 1967.  According to two historians at the Judicial Commission of NSW, more than 1,500 people were hanged in Australia between 1820 and 1900 when the population was much smaller.

The average number of hangings of convicted murderers in the final 30 years (between 1940 and 1969 inclusive) that the death penalty was Sentenced in Australia was 0.7 hangings each year (less than one hanging annually), albeit the national population was much smaller.

Australian Institute of Criminology tabulates 7,699 reported murders over the 26 years to June 2016.  Section B profiles 76 Heinous Murderers almost all Sentenced to Life Without Parole (who collectively killed 200 innocent people) that have cost, are costing and will cost, the State and Territory Public Purses over half a billion Australian dollars by the time each of them dies in jail.  To better understand the 'dent' upon State and Territory Public Purses to keep these 76 Heinous Murderers in tiny steel cages until they all die, a half a billion dollars is $500,000,000. 

The average cost per inmate serving a Sentence of Life Without Parole (based on the average annual cost of Maximum Security Incarceration in 2019) across the 76 Heinous Murderers (in Section B) over the last 35 years is $7,000,559 per inmate. 

Reviewing those 76 Murderer Profiles, or 44 of them individually appraised in Section C because of their heinous, monstrous treatment of their victims, impels our politicians to re-introduce the capacity for judges to impose a Sentence of Capital Punishment for those found guilty of the Most Heinous Crimes that are judged Never to be Released.  Excel file aggregates $532,045,500 in incarceration costs for the 76 Murderers Never to be Released that murdered 200 people - too many were children.  Those 76, whose Maximum Security Incarceration will cost the Public Purse over half a billion dollars, murdered a mere 2½% of the 7,699 reported murders over the 26 years to June 2016; such is the magnitude of this manifold mess.  Perusing the photos of many of the 200 victims of those 76 Life Without Parole Heinous Murderers evidences the folly of our governments committing more 'n more, and still more 'n more, to tiny steel cages until they die @ $175,000 per such inmate per annum. 

A phone-in poll conducted in January 1986 by a Sydney TV station shortly after a particularly gruesome sex-murder received over 48 000 calls. On this occasion 95 per cent of the respondents were in favour of the reintroduction of capital punishment.

In 2014 another public opinion survey was conducted by Roy Morgan Research where responders were given the question: "If a person is convicted of a terrorist act in Australia which kills someone should the penalty be death?” The surveyors conducted the poll with a cross-section of 1,307 Australians. The poll showed a small majority of Australians (52.5%) favoured the death penalty for deadly terrorist acts in Australia while 47.5% did not.

b)    Philosophers perspectives that Punishment should be proportional to the amount of harm caused by the offender

Below are extracts from As the coronavirus rages in prisons, ethical issues of crime and punishment become more compelling - written by Austin Sarat, Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College, that appeared in The Conversation on 6 Aug 2020:

“Philosophers since Aristotle have debated what justice in punishment requires. For him, punishment is governed by the requirements of what he called “corrective justice.” By this he meant that when someone is injured, the offender should be punished by inflicting comparable harm.

Aristotle‘s idea that punishment is a deserved and proportional response to an offense provides a building block for retributive theories of punishment, which embrace some form of “an eye for an eye” as a way to do justice.

Those theories insist, as 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant noted, that punishment “can never be inflicted merely as a means to promote some other good for the criminal himself or for civil society. It must always be inflicted upon him because he has committed a crime.” In other words, just punishment must give people what they deserve, nothing less and nothing more.

Thus, Kant suggested that the amount of punishment should be governed by a principle of proportionality.

Many contemporary theorists of punishment embrace this idea.  As legal scholar Bernard Harcourt recently said, punishment “should be proportional to the amount of harm caused by the offender.”

c)    Countries that sentence Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment is Sentenced in many of the largest countries, including two Commonwealth of Nations countries in South-East Asia.

USA articles on the higher cost to execute convicted murderers than commit them to Life in Prison.  But identify scope to execute a few Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Murderer/s annually, as Japan does each year.

   People (in the USA) keep voting in support of the death penalty. California Proposition 66, the Death Penalty Procedures Initiative, was a ballot held on Nov 8, 2016, in California as an initiated state statute.^[1] The below measure was approved:

Changing the procedures governing state court appeals and petitions that challenge death penalty convictions and sentences, including requiring the amount of time that legal challenges to death sentences take to a maximum of five years.

California Proposition 66, the Death Penalty Procedures Initiative, designates special courts to hear challenges to death penalty convictions, limits successive appeals and expands the pool of lawyers who could handle those appeals – all in an effort to speed up executions.

Execution of Lisa Montgomery, lone woman on death row, can take place before Joe Biden takes office, US court rules.  Montgomery was convicted of killing 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett in the north-west Missouri town of Skidmore in Dec 2004.  Montgomery used a rope to strangle Stinnett, who was eight months' pregnant, and then cut the baby girl from Stinnett's womb with a kitchen knife, authorities said.  Montgomery took the child with her and attempted to pass the girl off as her own, prosecutors said.

Japan, with a population of 127 million, executes four or five (on average) hardened criminals each year.  Japan executed 15 convicted murderers in 2018.  Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the civilised world; isolated application of Capital Punishment carries the support of the vast majority of Japanese citizens.  81% of the Japanese population support Capital Punishment for the most monstrous murderers.  Japan's homicide rate has been steadily decreasing since the 1950s, and now the country has one of the lowest homicide rates in the world, according to a new United Nations report.

Sri Lanka is planning four executions after a 43-year moratorium.

The Philippine House of Representatives has approved a bill to restore the death penalty, 11 years after it was abolished. - March 2017.

Capital punishment still has majority support in Australia : Comments  -  2007.

Bankers and politicians will think twice before embezzling in China - Former bank chief is executed in China after a bribery conviction.

d)    Capital Punishment is more humane and civilised than Life without parole

Below is an extract from 'The Art of Belonging' by Hugh Mackay:

      "The prison structure is a true testament of how important herd and tribes are, as the criminal justice system has devised solitary confinement as the worst punishment we can inflict on a prisoner."

Manic Depression Identified In Medical Reports/Journals/Articles chronicles several articles and reports on the despaired mental health of inmates facing longer prison Sentences.

A Negative Mindset Due To Facing A Long Prison Sentence Whilst Associating With Other Criminals includes a Huffington Post article What Death Penalty Opponents Don't Get (2014) that presents irrefutable arguments why there is no logical humane argument to incarcerate in a small steel cage prisoners that are Sentenced Never To Be Released.  Many of these sadistic murderers 'die a thousand deaths' confined to a small steel cage in the knowledge that it is their fate until they die.  Their Quality of Life is often negative due to manic depression.  The Public Purse should be expended on health, education and transportation of current and future taxpayers and on Rehabilitating inmates that are capable of returning to the community, ideally as taxpayers.

The Marshall Project reports that most Lifers deemed never to be released are dying a thousand deaths; experiencing a manic depressive QOL. 

Ivan Milat attempted suicide at least twice, cost the Aust. taxpayer $175,000 pa for 23 years in jail = $4.025m, then high hospital costs were incurred with an armed guard required. Martin Bryant is serving 35 life sentences, plus 1,035 years, all without the possibility of parole in Hobart's Risdon Prison.  He should have been executed in 1998.  Jailing Martin Bryant will cost the taxpayer about $7.525m by the time that he dies in jail.  Maximum Security Incarceration (until they die) of the five convicted rape/killers of Anita Cobby in 1985 will ultimately cost the NSW Public Purse $45.5 million.  'Never to be Released' lists several other Heinous Criminals that should also have been Sentenced to execution.

To Keep Despondent Inmates Permanently In A Manic Depressant State evidences that some of Australia's most notorious convicted murderers have attempted to take their own lives on a few occasions. 

Capital Punishment is more humane and civilised than Life without parole.

Below are three extracts from What life is REALLY like for the depraved inmates of Australia's harshest prison – Goulburn SUPERMAX - Daily Mail -  Candace Sutton - 5 August 2015:

Gang rapist, Bilal Skaf, regularly sobbed in his cell, but also kept a collection of hardcore pornography, drew obscene sketches of his ex-girlfriend, and threw urine at a fellow women abuser, Robert Black Farmer, who he considered 'inferior'.

Six time murderer, Malcolm Baker, has gone crazy in Supermax and wears a tinfoil hat to stop 'aliens entering his brain'".

Farhad Qaumi went beserk in his prison cell in Goulburn jail, armed with a jail-made shiv, inciting his fellow inmates to join in as he attempted to flood his cell and threatened to kill prison officers.

Articles re Goulburn's Supermax Prison, specifically that -

*       nearly all incarcerated Muslim extremists inmates are incubated  at  Goulburn's Supermax amidst a hotbed of radical preaching; and

*       if/when theses inmates are disgorged, they are likely to perpetrate mass terrorism in retaliation for their enslavement.

e)    A return to limited Sentencing of Capital Punishment in Australia is necessary to Deter  Sadistic, Brutal, Heinous, Unprovoked Crimes

A return to Capital Punishment, after An Infliction Of Corporal Punishment seven days earlier, for One, Two or perhaps Three annually if found guilty Beyond any Doubt of a Sadistic, Brutal, Heinous, Unprovoked Crime/s that is/are 'marked', or would be candidates Never to be Released, is warranted, because -

*       Femicide And Filicide notes that at least 170 Australian women, men and children lost their lives to domestic violence in 2017, that included 48 adult women and 17 children.  79 women and 22 children were murdered in 2018;

*       such Murders should once again be discouraged with a Punishment that resonates a strong Deterrent, because Australia's very high Recidivism Rates evidence that incarceration is not an effective Deterrent, in fact Jail Is The University of Crime;

*       the Quality of Life for an inmate serving a Life Sentence marked Never To Be Released is generally 'negative' due to manic depression and at best would be dreadfully low, as identified in Documented Medical Reports/Journals/Articles;

*       Capital Punishment Deters Homicides; and

*       $150,000 pa (Admin Cost) and $25,000 pa (Capital Expenditure Cost) per Maximum Security Prisoner cannot be justified To Keep Despondent Inmates Permanently In A Manic Depressant State when health, education and transportation budgets (for taxpayers and future taxpayers) are a higher priority if Australia is to remain competitive with countries that have more cost-effective Deterrents.

f)     Seven more well known murderers that judges should have been entrusted the legislated authority to Sentence the 'death penalty'.
Section C details 44 thoroughly heinous murderers (from amongst the 76 reviewed in Section B) that were Sentenced to Life Without Parole that would be better off dead at enormous cost savings to the Public Purse

1.  Martin Bryant shot dead 35 people at Port Arthur in Tasmania in 1996.  He attempted suicide on 25 March 2007 by slashing his wrist with a razor blade.  On 27 March 2007 he cut his throat with another razor blade and was hospitalised briefly.  As of 2015, Bryant was housed in the maximum-security Risdon Prison near Hobart.  Whilst in prison Bryant was diagnosed with having borderline intellectual functioning, Asperger syndrome and antisocial personality disorder.

2.  Peter Norris Dupas is an Australian serial killer, currently serving three life sentences without parole for murder and primarily for being a serious habitual offender. He has a very significant criminal history involving serious sexual and violent offences, with his violent criminal history spanning more than three decades, and with every release from prison has been known to commit further crimes against women with increasing levels of violence. His criminal signature was to remove the breasts of his female victims.  As of 2007, Dupas had been convicted of three murders and is a prime suspect in at least three other murders committed in the vicinity of the Melbourne area during the 1980s and 1990s.

3.  Paul Haigh murdered six innocent people in the late 1970s in a series of shootings and stabbings, including a 10-year-old boy.

4.  Mad, bad and too dangerous to go free: Rebecca Butterfield, 41, stabbed to death a fellow inmate 33 times, slit her OWN throat, stabbed a guard in the face and once head butted a wall until her skull cracked.

5.  On 23 Dec '20, Bradley John Edwards was sentenced to 40 years in prison (40 x $175,000 = $7m) for the murders of Jane Rimmer 23 and Ciara Glennon 27 in Claremont WA.

6.  Between 1989 and 1993 Ivan Milat viciously and sadistically murdered seven backpackers, aged 19 to 22, in the Belanglo State Forest, 15 kilometres from Berrima NSW.  Five of the victims were foreign backpackers visiting Australia (three German, two British).  Two were Australian travellers from Melbourne.  Five of the seven victims were females.  Ivan Milat was Never To Be Released from Maximum Security Incarceration that ultimately cost the Public Purse  $4.025m ($175,000 pa x 23 years jail), plus hospital costs and armed guard costs. 

The Australian taxpayer was sentenced to the penalty of $175,000 each year [(Administrative costs $150,000 and Capital Expenditure costs $25,000)] for Milat to reside in a Maximum Security Prison in a small steel cage at the taxpayer's expense until he died in Oct 2019.  Never To Be Released Prisoners  Quality of Life is 5% circa 'at best' of the majority of Australians.  Executing Never To Be Released Prisoners is not taking a life, it is ending a misery and a torment far more intense and long enduring than execution.  The Australian taxpayer then paid the high cost of controlled/supervised hospitalisation in the later stages of Milat's life.

7.  In 2012, Ivan Milat's great-nephew, Matthew Milat, and his friend, Cohen Klein, (both aged 19 at the time of their sentencing) were sentenced to a maximum of 43 years and a maximum of 32 years in prison respectively, for murdering David Auchterlonie on his 17th birthday with an axe at the Belanglo State Forest in 2010.  Matthew Milat struck Auchterlonie with the double-headed axe as Klein audio recorded the attack with a mobile phone. This was the same forest where Ivan Milat had killed and buried his seven young adults over 3½ years. 

1st QUESTION:
Would David Auchterlonie be alive today, and Matthew Milat and Cohen Klein not be serving very long and costly gaol sentences, had Ivan Milat been executed by hanging promptly after being found guilty by a NSW court of sadistically and methodically murdering seven backpackers over 3½ years?  
Would the likelihood that David Auchterlonie would not have been murdered by Matthew Milat be even higher had Ivan Milat been harshly flogged a week prior to being hung by the neck until dead?

 

1st ANSWER:
Casual empiricism suggests -

A.      a reasonable likelihood, say 50%, that David Auchterlonie would still be breathing had Ivan Milat been swiftly executed by hanging and not jailed until his death by natural causes; and

B.      an even higher likelihood that David Auchterlonie would not have been murdered by Ivan Milat's great-nephew be even higher, had Ivan Milat been harshly flogged a week prior to being hung by the neck until dead.

          2nd QUESTION:
What has been the business case for expending over $4,025,000 of the fiscal pot on Maximum Security Incarceration for 24 years on a man that sadistically killed seven young backpackers when his QOL has been immensely negative. Mindful of Milat's attempted suicides, what life did the NSW State not take?

          2nd ANSWER:
When the State takes the life of a criminal like Ivan Milat, it is not taking a life.  It is saving a large chunk of the fiscal pot for expenditure on the health, education and transportation of taxpayers and future taxpayers which is what many of our major trading partners, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia et al, do and what the administrators of early Australian settlement did.  Maintaining our Balance of Payments on Current Account, and not running up state government deficits, is a fundamental need.  Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems Within Australian Prison System is patent evidence that incarcerating tens of thousands of criminals in small steel cages as a Punishment and Deterrent is a proven failure; an outcome that NO ONE has ever contested.

g)    People that have spoken in favour of Capital Punishment

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

            "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."  

In Nov 2018, ex-Tory minister, John Hayes, called for return of capital punishment amid a bloody crime wave.  Hayes presented written parliamentary questions to the British parliament asserting that capital punishment 'should be available to the courts'.

Below is an extract from journalist, David Sergeant article It’s time to bring back the death penalty in the Australia Spectator - 15 Jan 2019:

        "Rigorous precautions can ensure incorrect execution is all but impossible, with the death penalty available only in cases in which evidence is diverse and overwhelming. The accused must be convicted by a unanimous jury of their peers and their conviction open to repeated appeal.

"For the vast majority, capital punishment isn't motivated by lustful revenge, but by a desire to protect the gentle and kind amongst us, punish heinous criminals in just proportion to the severity of their crime, and dramatically reaffirm objective moral truth."

"Whilst retribution is paramount, the State is also responsible for the protection of its citizens, an endeavour that is proving increasingly difficult.  Nations that allow dangerous murderers to live, create potential victims both inside and outside of prison.  Since the abolition of capital punishment in the West, numerous killers have taken further life following their initial conviction for murder."

Queensland Federal MP, George Christensen wants to see the death penalty introduced. –The Courier Mail – 2013

Some point out that it is unfair that terrorists, torturers, and paedophiles should live out their years behind bars with access to food, shelter, and entertainment — all on the taxpayer's dime.

NSW (then) Opposition Leader, Nick Greiner, in 1986 carrying petitions signed by 10,000 western suburbs citizens demanding the death penalty for the Cobby killers.

h)    Some perspectives on Capital Punishment

Below is an extract from a New York Times article Pope Francis Declares Death Penalty Unacceptable in All Cases - 2 Aug 2018:

“A majority of American Catholics favor capital punishment, 53 percent, while 42 percent oppose it, according to a poll that the Pew Research Center conducted in the Spring of 2018.

Among Americans as a whole, 54 percent are in favor and 39 percent opposed.”

In May 2002, then U.S. Supreme Court Judge, Justice Antonin Scalia, published a paper, controversial amongst some Catholics, "God's Justice and Ours", supporting the death penalty for heinous murderers.  Below is a bible verse from St. Paul that Scalia drew upon to evidence that God's teachings condone the death penalty:

          "But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. (Romans 13:1-5)

Below is an extract from Scalia's paper that explains what Paul wrote in Romans 13:1-5:

          "But the core of his message is that government—however you want to limit that concept—derives its moral authority from God. It is the “minister of God” with powers to “revenge,” to “execute wrath,” including even wrath by the sword (which is unmistakably a reference to the death penalty). "

St. Paul clearly justifies the state’s use of ‘the sword’ in punishing wrongdoers (Romans 13:4):

            "For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.  But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."

In June 2007, a paper titled The Death Penalty Deters Crime and Saves Lives was delivered by David Muhlhausen (Research Fellow in Empirical Policy Analysis at The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis) before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate.  That paper provided cogent evidence from a welter of earlier analysis, as well as David Muhlhausen's research findings based on 'multiple data' collection points, that "....capital punishment produces a strong deterrent effect that saves lives".

The possibility of a Death Sentence has increased the likelihood of a 'plea bargain', rather than 'run the gauntlet' in a trial hearing where execution might be Sentenced.  Such patent plea bargaining evidences that a lot of people on a charge of murder would sooner accept a lengthy jail sentence, than run the risk in a contested murder trial of being found guilty and thence sentenced to death.  This evidences that the 'death penalty' is a cogent Deterrent to committing homicide.

i)    Limited re-introduction of a Sentence of Capital Punishment for One, Two or perhaps Three of the Most Monstrous Convicted Murderers, Terrorists, Serial Rapists, Paedophiles and Child Killers each year found guilty Beyond any doubt of the Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Murder, after an Infliction of Corporal Punishment a week prior to Execution, will save lives and reduce prison costs

Below is a quote from The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: Evidence from a “Judicial Experiment” - July 2003 - Hashem Dezhbakhsh (Emory University) & Joanna M. Shepherd (Clemson University)  that used

"The results are boldly clear: executions deter murders and murder rates increase substantially during moratoriums. The results are consistent across before-and-after comparisons and regressions regardless of the data’s aggregation level, the time period, or the specific variable used to measure executions."

The case for capital punishment.

Why capital punishment can no longer be dismissed.

Capital Punishment Deters Homicides.

Arguments For The Death Penalty - UK Essays conclude:

        "A critical analysis reveals that the death sentence is an effective punishment that serves intended purposes of deterrence and retribution, Delfino & Mary (2007, p.70)." 

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.”

Other reasons to re-introduce Capital Punishment in Australia.

Released to Kill Again: An Analysis of Paroled Murderers Who Murder Again While on Parole examines the characteristics of over 400 murderers in the United States who were convicted of murder, subsequently paroled or released from prison, and then murdered again while on parole or release. Key findings include an analysis of the length of time from parole to a further murder, as well as a general profile of the re-offenders.

        "Had these three child rapist murderers been executed (and not jailed and eventually released), four young women would still be alive today"

The Australian Federal Parliament is made up of democratically elected representatives from around Australia that discuss legislation and make laws for the benefit of the nation, relying upon sections 51 and 122 of the Constitution.  Notwithstanding, Parliaments' extensive legislative powers, the persons that Australians elect to legislate laws that deal with Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Murder have abrogated their duty to the Australian people because of the Annual Homicide Rates, especially annual Femicide And Filicide rates.

As set out in An Infliction of Corporal Punishment prior to Execution, below is the Punishment that Judges should be empowered to Sentence at their discretion to the Most Heinous Of Convicted Criminals that are convicted of the Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Murder of another human/s (classified as a Level 1 'criminal offence') where the highest level of proof is established, namely Beyond any doubt of guilt, as opposed to Beyond reasonable doubt of guilt:

(a)      3 lashes of the Cat 'O Nine Tails liberally struck upon the bare back above the kidneys; and

(b)      3 canings of an Australian Rattan liberally struck upon the bare buttocks below the kidneys.

Seven days after such Corporal Punishment is inflicted, the Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Murderer (male adult) is hung by the neck until dead with approx. 20 witnesses drawn from the community, who are then able to comment to the media regarding the impact upon them of witnessing the 6 lashes/canings inflicted and the subsequent execution by hanging.

A secondary reason for in An Infliction of Corporal Punishment prior to Execution is to placate any psychologists/psychiatrists that might opine that some psychopathic murderers might viciously murder in order to be executed, even though Empirical Evidence Quantifies Charged Persons On Remand Plead Guilty To Avoid Being Sentenced To Death.  Ipso facto, the prospect of being executed for killing another, or other human beings, Deters some humans form murder.

What is the rationale for keeping alive convicted murderers at a cost to the taxpayer of $175,000 per inmate p.a. that prison appointed psychologists and psychiatrists have deemed Never To Be Released, because of their vicious capacity and unstable mental states, thereby a risk to society?  What human life would the State be taking?  The Australian Veterinarians Assoc condones humans euthanizing dogs, cats, even horses, when these animals QOL materially diminishes. Yet we are incapable of providing the same relief to Lifers deemed never to be released, many that are dying a thousand deaths; experiencing a manic depressive QOL.

Section B profiles 76 Heinous Murderers Sentenced to Life Without Parole  (who collectively killed 200 innocent people) that have cost, are costing and will cost, the State and Territory Public Purses a smidgeon over half a billion Australian dollars by the time nearly all of them die in jail.  Opponents of Capital Punishment for the Most Heinous Convicted Criminals lack the courage to confront the details on Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Murder/s in Section B.  If such 'opposers' possessed requisite fortitude, and had a rudimentary understanding of the dollar cost upon Australia's prison system to incarcerate each of these Most Heinous Convicted Criminals in a Maximum Security Prison, that could be partially diverted to two dedicated 'caseworker' administered programmes, such 'opposers' would alter their nebulous beliefs, because they would be unable to explain (in writing) the merits of continuing to warehouse such Heinous Convicted Criminals in tiny steel cages many that are dying a thousand deaths; experiencing a manic depressive QOL @ $175,000 pa per inmate upon the Public Purse.

Below is an extract of the 'Conclusion' of Arguments For The Death Penalty - 20th Nov 2019:

"The proponents of death penalty base their perspectives on an array of conflicting arguments. The fundamental basis for the death punishment is to deter crime just like any other criminal punishment. Moreover, based on the retributive justice approaches, the death sentence gives a near proportionate punishment to the perpetrator.  Similarly, the proponents use cost implication and social anxiety and fear in the society to argue for executions.  However, the critics of the death penalty base their arguments on rights ethics, Kantian moral and ethical principles as well as the cost implications. A critical analysis reveals that the death sentence is an effective punishment that serves intended purposes of deterrence and retribution, Delfino & Mary (2007, p.70). It is therefore imperative that governments must streamline legal proceedings for death penalty to increase certainty, swiftness and proportionality of justice."

j)    A return to Capital Punishment for the most heinous, monstrous murderers

Executing (by hanging) of One, Two or perhaps Three of the Most Heinous Criminals annually, convicted Beyond Any Doubt of Guilt of a Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Crime that are 'marked', or would be candidates Never to be Released, after An Infliction of Corporal Punishment, would materially reduce the -

*        164 males and 92 females murdered in Australian each year (between July 2012 to June 2014) - Homicide in Australia 2012–13 to 2013–14: National Homicide Monitoring Program pg 18 (Australian Institute of Criminology);

*        the 142 first degree murders in the 12 months to 30 June 2018, excluding the ACT and persons charged with murder that committed suicide, or died of natural causes, before a court hearing;

*         27 (ave) Australian children that have died at the hands of one of their parents each year over the previous fifteen years to 2012; and

*         financial impost upon the Public Purse of incarceration in a Maximum Security Prison. 

Professor Andrew Day, Melb Uni, article Crime and punishment and rehabilitation: a smarter approach (June 2015) asserts that that Punishment needs to be predictable, applied at maximum intensity to be effective and be dispensed swiftly.

Such a swiftly imposed frightening, painful and lethal Sentence would also evidence -

a)        a far more potent Deterrence than jail incarceration, including fewer Molly Goodbun's being murdered by their husband where the husband would get bed and b'fast for life;

b)        markedly fewer inmates saturating Australia's Maximum Security Prisons to free-up prison space and prison warders/psychologists/case workers to Rehabilitate, after An Infliction of Corporal Punishment, all but Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Murderers;

c)        Justice for the Innocent Victim/s;

d)        Denunciation;

e)        Community Protection; and

f)         end a tormented life with minimal or negative QOL Due To Manic Depression as chronicled in psychologists/psychiatrists/caseworkers Documented Reports/Journals/Articles.

Future monstrous murders of the viciousness and brutality committed by the 35 Never to be Released Inmates, whose murders date back to 1986, would be eligible to be executed by hanging by the neck, seven days after an infliction of 3 lashes of the Cat 'O Nine Tails and 3 canings of an Australian Rattan.

k)   Politicians, what have you got to lose?

ALL THE EVIDENCE IS THAT A RETURN TO MINIMAL SENTENCING OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT WILL DEMONSTRABLY REDUCE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AND THE COST OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

l)    The Australian Govt. should legislate 'assisted dying' for inmates that have no prospect of ever being released that are suffering manic depression

Below is an extract from Assisted dying for prison populations: Lessons from and for abroad - Medical Law International written by three female lawyers from Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Canada:

“Canadian federal legislation setting out the framework for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada came into effect in June 2016. Because of section 86(1) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, as soon as MAiD became available in the community, it also needed to be made available to federal prisoners.”

The Most Heinous, Monstrous Convicted Murderers, Serial Rapists, Paedophiles and Child Killers in Australian jails 'ear-marked' Never To Be Released should be -

A.      formerly asked every two years if they want a lethal injection to -

         (a).      end their futile lives, thereby saving the Public Purse approx $150,000 pa per such inmate in Admin Costs; and

         (b)       observe the same euthanasia compassion afforded to dogs, cats, and horses when those animals QOL has materially diminished - endorsed by the Australian Veterinarians Assoc; and

B.      allowed to request in writing a lethal injection at any time in between such two year formal written approaches.
The process for A. and B. immediately above should be fully recorded on digital video and such digital video retained for at least 20 years.

Accordingly, the Australian Govt. should adopt the precedent set by Canada, Switzerland et al and legislate that each inmate convicted of a Sadistic, Brutal, Heinous, Unprovoked Crimes that is identified or sentenced Never To Be Released should -

(a)      complete a statutory declaration every two years that attests that s/he declines assisted dying by lethal injection; and

(b)      have the right to request assisted dying at any time in between the formal written approach each two years. 

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Conclusion

Below is an extract from Why in W-W-W-W-H-HM:

Chapter 3 'The economic and social costs of imprisonment' - part of an Australian Parliamentary Report dated 2013:

"Governments need to address the long term economic and social costs of imprisonment to prevent further development of intergenerational offending, and occurrences of recidivism."

Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems Within Australian Prison System and High recidivism/re-offending rates evidence that lengthy incarceration as a sole form of Punishment is not cost-effective expenditure of the Public Purse.

The Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems Within Australian Prison System are due to inept performance by our duly elected policy/law makers.  Government should inter alia "recognise and support the critical roles played by civil society and non-profit organisations"; but only those that actually make a tangible contribution to improving our Criminal Justice System and exclude those Not-For-Profits that profess to, regularly seeking government grants and donations, accept Directors fees, but fail to meaningfully deliver upon their social undertakings/representations.

Economic Necessity Dictates that the Australian Parliament direct its Criminal Justice System, in particular Judicial and Corrective Services to the 1st Prong and 2nd Prong explained above - précised in What. 

Ten unchallengeable reasons to revert to the incidence (per capita) of Capital Punishment that was Sentenced in the final 30 years of Judicial Corporal Punishment for Adults in Australia (until the mid-1940s) after An Infliction Of Corporal Punishment seven days earlier for One, Two or perhaps Three of the Most Heinous Convicted Murderers annually that are 'marked' Never to be Released, if found guilty Beyond any Doubt of a Sadistic, Brutal, Heinous, Unprovoked Crime/s (classified as a Level 1 'criminal offence') in order to materially reduce criminal activity across Australia because Western society has jumped ahead along Homo sapiens 'punishment/development curve' due to the recent scourge of illicit drug use.

Twenty reasons to revert to Corporal Punishment for adults with a Swift, Frightening and a Painful Flogging at less than half the punishment strokes Sentenced in the final 30 years of Judicial Corporal Punishment (until the mid-1940s) in Australia for Non-Murderous Crimes for Suitable Male Criminals to replace approx half of current Jail Sentences.

The majority of the 28,721 'sentenced' inmates in Australia should have been Sentenced to a Swift, Frightening and a Painful Dose of Corporal Punishment, then Rehabilitation commenced which incorporates Education and Vocational Training to instil self-belief and optimism to expedite 'custodial release' (Electronic Monitoring Device in some releases) of "eligible longer sentence inmates" into an employed job for a minimum of three months offered by Supportive ASX 200 Companies.

'Political courage' will be required for Australian governments to re-implement Capital Punishment and Corporal Punishment, notwithstanding that -

*         over 97% of the 108b Homo sapiens have lived under both during the 125,000 years circa occupancy of 'terra firma';

*         even in the last 2,000 years chieftains, rulers, sovereigns, monarchs, warlords et al practiced the most barbaric executions to send out the message "don't challenge our authority";

*         the majority of the current 7.6b circa human population today live under both forms of frightening Punishment (China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, parts of the United States, Pakistan, Somalia, Belarus, Yemen, Afghanistan, Botswana, Libya, Guyana, Uganda, Bangladesh, Sudan, Nigeria, Taiwan, India, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, the Arab States, Malaysia, Singapore 'et al'); and

*         countries, that include Sri Lanka and The Philippines, that had removed Capital Punishment from the Sentencing options, have recently re-instated Capital Punishment, ostensibly to thwart the damaging consequences of the illicit drug trade.

Politicians are elected to enact policies through legislation in the best interests of their constituents, that includes the -

A.       74 women and 27 children that were murdered due to domestic violence in Australia in 2019; and

B.       the 416 people murdered in 2018-'19.

Politicians within Australia's six states and two territories need to display requisite courage to reduce the Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems that they were elected to resolve, because the Australian Parliamentary Report's concerns and a plethora of similar reports findings over many years, have been circumvented for too long.

'Serving your time' has been the primary form of Punishment which has created the Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems that the afore-mentioned Chapter 3 of the Australian Parliamentary Report dated 2013 determined "Governments need to address the long term economic and social costs of imprisonment to prevent further development of intergenerational offending, and occurrences of recidivism" acknowledges. 

A Swift, Frightening and a Painful Dose of Corporal Punishment should be Sentenced for Suitable Male Criminals and for Non-Murderous Crimes immediately followed by the 2^nd and 3^rd Gears to enable the 4^th Gear.  The templates of the Restorative Justice Model Successfully Adopted in Scandinavia and in Texas USA and even in San Patrignano, Northern Italy, can be learnt from.

Removal of Capital Punishment and Corporal Punishment from the Sentencing Acts around the middle of the last century has -

A.       Cost a lot of lives because premeditated murder, or rape/murder, is not effectively Deterred the way it once was;

B.       Burnt the Public Purse searing all of us - $7,000,559 per inmate Sentenced to Life Without Parole;

C.       Saturated more and more, larger and larger prisons with more and more inmates;

D.       Resulted in the Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Problems within the Australian Prison System; and

E.       Sent a lot of Life Without Parole inmates, with no light at the end of the tunnel, mentally insane and attempting suicide - a curious phenomenon for people who think that Capital Punishment is inhumane.

Below is an extract from Gendreau, P., Goggin, C., & Cullen, F. (1999). The Effects of Prison Sentences on Recidivism. Ottawa, ON: Solicitor General Canada:

"The essential conclusions reached from this study were:

1. Prisons should not be used with the expectation of reducing criminal behaviour.

2. On the basis of the present results, excessive use of incarceration has enormous cost implications.

3. In order to determine who is being adversely affected by prison, it is incumbent upon prison officials to implement repeated, comprehensive assessments of offenders’ attitudes, values, and behaviours while incarcerated.

4. The primary justification of prison should be to incapacitate offenders (particularly, those of a chronic, higher risk nature) for reasonable periods and to exact retribution."

Sentencing of criminals convicted of Sadistic, Brutal, Heinous, Unprovoked Crimes under the Criminal Justice System usually does not evidence all of the Seven Purposes of Sentencing, notably Denunciation and Community Protection.  Justice for the Innocent Victim/s (Retribution) is presently not one of the Seven Purposes of Sentencing convicted criminals.  If Justice for the Innocent Victim/s was a quantifiable measurement when determining a Sentence, the below listed more recent rape-murders, and several hundred murders of other innocent females since the 'death penalty' was removed as a Sentencing option around the middle of the last century, would have been considerably less likely to have tragically occurred:

The tragic deaths of comedian, Eurydice Dixon,  Aiia Maasarwe, 8 year old Sofia Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu, 9 year old Ebony Simpson, Prue Bird, two Bega High School students, Lauren Barry and Nichole Collins, Mersina Halvagis, Nicole Patterson and Margaret Maher, nurse Anita Cobby, Lisa Maude Brearley, teenagers Kerryn Henstridge and Anne Smerdon.

The potent Deterrents for 1st Degree Murder and for Drug Lords recommended in this Discussion Paper, namely a return to Capital Punishment, after An Infliction Of Corporal Punishment seven days earlier, for One, Two or perhaps Three of the Most Monstrous Convicted Murderers, Terrorists, Serial Rapists, Paedophiles and Child Killers each year (142 first degree murders in the 12 months to 30 June 2018), if found guilty Beyond any Doubt will demonstrably reduce future such Crimes That Warrant The Death Penalty and associated, police, court and incarceration costs.

Perhaps in a COVID-19 new world order, the Public Purse incurring a $7,000,559 additional cost each time Life Without Parole is Sentenced may be a greater influence on Australian State and Territory governments changing Sentenced Punishments, than to reduce inter alia annual Femicide and Filicide deaths.

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Postscript

Reasons and Issues that prompted a retired banker to research and write the Discussion Paper

The current Liberal/Nationals Coalition federal government has continued the mandatory detention regime of illegal boat arrivals that was set into legislation with bipartisan support in 1992, and endorsed through a major parliamentary inquiry in 1994.  Alas, too many traumatised asylum seekers have stayed in offshore detention centres on Nauru, Christmas Island, Manus Island, Port Moresby et al for many, many years under often trying physical and mental conditions, with suicides and riots occurring. Part of the rationale is that adopting a tough line on boat arrivals and turning back boats has materially reduced asylum seekers drowning at sea. 

Following the tough stand taken to control our borders from humans less fortunate than Australian-born, Australia's State and Territory governments should have similarly displayed the 'ticker' and the 'smarts' to Sentence stringent physical Punishments to some criminal offenders to demonstrably Deter others from committing crimes not limited to murder, rape, Femicide, Filicide, Street Gang Theft, drug trafficking, culpable driving causing death, embezzlement and insider trading. The prospect of doing one's time in a tiny steel cage is a failed/flawed, highly cost-ineffective Deterrent that no one has ever cost-justified through economic modelling by quantifying the tangible and intangible benefits of prison incarceration against the tangible and intangible costs.  These unsatisfactory outcomes were lamentably forecast by the Australian Institute of Criminology over 30 years ago in the 'Conclusion' of SOCIETY'S RESPONSE TO THE VIOLENT OFFENDER (First published 1989) - explained at the tail of Prelude above.

SMH article (18 Jan 21) "Iranian pair charged over alleged plot to import $187 million worth of meth" reports a plot to import a quarter of a tonne of methamphetamine in shipments of chandeliers and kitchen benchtops with a street value of AUD$187 million circa.  The Iranians that perpetrated this massive import of methamphetamine would have chosen another country that does not ruthlessly Punish Drug Lords, rather than import into a country that should execute Drug Lords after flogging them within an inch of their life 7 days prior.  Does Australia genuinely want to discourage spivey, nasty drug crime?  Or continue to ignore the magnitude of the social and economic ramifications that would shame Australia's Forefather Governors who understood what discouraged disorder?  Sentencing these Iranians to 15 years circa jail @175,000 pa per Drug Lord will not Deter drug trafficking, nor diminish the horrendous addictive consequences upon vulnerable Australians that The State should protect.

"Illicit drug use costs Australia billions of dollars every year in lost productivity and healthcare and crime costs.  This paper examines the demographics of methamphetamine users and their employment, education and health outcomes using data from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey, the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program, the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services data collection and the National Prisoner Health Data Collection.  Across all data sources, methamphetamine users reported worse employment, education, housing and health outcomes than those who used other illicit drugs and those who did not use drugs.  In the general population, this effect was more pronounced for crystal methamphetamine users than for users of other forms of methamphetamines."

On 15 Dec 2014, Man Haron Monis, aged 50, in the Lindt Chocolate Café in Martin Place Sydney, presented a gun and began a 16-hour hostage siege that resulted in the deaths of one customer, Katrina Dawson, and cafe employee, Tori Johnson.  Man Haron Monis was shot dead by police when they raided the café the following morning.  Why are Australians invariably pleased when a gunman is executed by police fire in an armed siege?  Yet if the armed gunman that has killed one or more innocent people is apprehended and faces the courts, the maximum penalty does not allow executing the murderer/s?

A few cursory 'readers' of this Discussion Paper, and another that the Writer has mentioned it to, have retorted that "I could never condone capital punishment.  Society has moved on beyond that." 

Lamentably, those 'readers'-

(A)        lack the concern to want to understand the manner and frequency that a representative cohort of 76 Australian Murderers Never to be Released inmates in Section B carried out their 200 Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Murders; and/or

(B)       do not understand the huge number of Femicide And Filicide murders annually from Domestic Violence; and/or

(C)       are not aware that the Quality of Life of an inmate (serving a Life Sentence marked Never To Be Released) is very low at best, as identified in Documented Medical Reports/Journals/Articles that establish that life in a prison cell, where there is no light at the end of the tunnel, is often highly tormenting.  Notwithstanding in some Western countries, Homo sapiens have become incapable of providing the same relief to Lifers deemed never to be released, many that are dying a thousand deaths; experiencing a manic depressive QOL.  Yet the Australian Veterinarians Assoc condones humans euthanizing dogs, cats and horses, when their QOL materially diminishes.  Canada has recently legislated 'assisted dying' which is also available to long term prison inmates suffering from manic depression; and/or

(D)       do not take an interest in governments' ineffectiveness to reduce/mitigate the costly Baker's Dozen Unsustainable Prison Problems; and/or

(E)       do not place any weight on Justice for the Innocent Victim/s; and/or

(F)       do not possess the financial acumen to understand Public Purse costs that could be better expended, by -

            (i)       executing One, Two or perhaps Three of Australia's (future) judged Never to be Released Inmates annually that have committed Heinous, Barbaric Crimes that -

                       *       would have been executed in Australia less than 100 years ago; and

                       *       are still being executed in countries with over half the global population, incl. Japan (15 executed in 2018), Malaysia (4 executed in 2017) and Singapore (13 executed in 2018), USA (22 executed in 2019); and

            (ii)      a Sentence of Corporal Punishment for Non-Murderous Crimes for Suitable Male Criminals, then Rehabilitation, incorporating Education and Vocational Training, to instil self-belief and optimism due to the opportunity for a chance at a paid job, thereby expediting custodial release back into the community by utilising an Electronic Monitoring Device, as taxpayers, into an employed job for a minimum of three months offered by Supportive ASX 200 Companies.

"The self-righteous ferocity with which the commentariat oppose any suggestion of a return to capital punishment is unrivalled in its intensity. Perhaps this is unsurprising. Easy for the wealthy, so keen to banish ‘distant death’ from their consciousness, to scoff at the ‘vulgar sadism’ of state execution."

Those politically correct 'readers' may have a different view had they lost a relative, or a friend, in Belanglo State Forest (1989-93), Hoddle Street massacre (1987), Queen Street massacre (1987), Strathfield massacre (1991), Port Arthur massacre (1996), Vehicle-Ramming Attacks at Bourke Street Mall, Melb (Jan 2017) and Flinders St Station, Melb. (Dec 2017 et al.  Or if they knew any of the following female 'partner' victims who died a gruesome death in the last 20 years - several others listed below were children.  A few others were young teenagers who were raped prior to being cruelly life-ended.  The total mothers and children murdered in the last 20 years in Aust. would be approx. 30 times the more recent deceased victims listed below:

71 Australian women were killed by domestic violence in 2016.  Femicide And Filicide notes that at least 170 Australian women, men and children lost their lives to Domestic Violence in 2017, that included 48 adult women and 17 children.  79 women and 22 children were murdered in 2018.  74 women and 27 children were murdered in 2019.

The Father of Restorative Justice, Captain Alexander Maconochie, encountered strident criticism (back in the Motherland) for his 'soft' treatment of inmates on Norfolk Island from 1840 during an era of vicious physical punishment evidenced in Corporal Punishment previously sentenced in Australia; it wasn't the Current Wisdom for treating hardened criminals back in the Motherland.  Yet Captain Maconochie's administration reaped amazingly beneficial results in a short time frame.  Lamentably, those benefits vaporized upon his departure from Norfolk Island returning to England in 1844.

Doubtless there are 'opponents' of Four Gears of Early Rehabilitation and Release, and in highly isolated instances a Sentence of An Infliction Of Corporal Punishment, thence a week later execution by hanging of One, Two or perhaps Three annually of Australia's (future) Most Heinous Murderous Criminals that are convicted Beyond Any Doubt of Guilt of a Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Crime and judged Never to be Released, because such 'opponents' hold the Current Wisdom, albeit it hasn't been the Current Wisdom amongst 97% of the 108 billion 'circa' Homo sapiens during the last 130,000 circa years occupancy of terra firma.

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FORECAST REDUCTION IN  (i) CRIMES COMMITTED,  (ii) INMATES IN JAILS AND  (iii) EXPENDITURE ON THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, FROM:

Two recommended changes to Sentencing under criminal law within State and Territory jurisdictions in Australia to -

a)     materially reduce the burgeoning annual expenditure on the Justice Sector - $18.431b in 2018-19, in particular the $4.416 billion expended on Corrective Services in 2017-18 - a real increase of 35% from five years earlier in 2012-13; and

b)     instil a patent Deterrent to discourage potential law breakers
 

Offer of assisted dying by lethal injection to inmates identified or sentenced Never To Be Released that has been applied in Canada and will be shortly in Switzerland

(i)     CRIMES COMMITTED

Forecast reduction in crimes committed from implementing the further above explained Two recommended changes to Sentencing under criminal law within State and Territory jurisdictions in Australia 

A 7% to 9% reduction in reported crimes committed from Level 6 to Level 1 criminal offences after two years of Sentencing proven Deterrents, namely -

A.       Floggings as the primary form of Punishment for Level 6 to Level 2 criminal offences (listed under 'Sample Offences' in Penalty Scale at the tail of Swift, Frightening and Painful Dose of Corporal Punishment); and

B.       executing One, Two or perhaps Three of the Most Heinous Criminals annually that are convicted Beyond Any Doubt of Guilt of a Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Crime that are 'marked', or would be candidates Never to be Released, after An Infliction of Corporal Punishment, which was the same per capita frequency (of population that executions were carried out in the final 30 years of executions in Australian states).

For the reasons explained in Longer and harsher prison sentences can mean that prisoners’ personalities will be changed in ways that make their reintegration difficult, the reduction in Recidivism (numbers of re-offenders) will be lower than the overall forecast of 8% circa reduction in reported crimes committed for current levels listed in Productivity Commission Excel file Table 8A.4 within two years of Sentencing because inmates released from longer term incarceration that have learnt how to survive in jail develop "institutionalised personality traits”, including "distrusting others, difficulty engaging in relationships [and] hampered decision-making”.

Crimes committed will reduce by 20% within 10 years (recorded by the ABS), as more and more prospective Floggings are Sentenced and administered because Floggings are an infinitely more cogent Deterrent.

40% approx of lower level crime goes undetected/unreported to police. Over 50% of 'sexual assault' is undetected/unreported to police.  A similar 8% circa reduction in unreported crimes committed (from Level 5 to Level 8) is forecast after two years.

(ii)     INMATES IN JAILS

Forecast reduction in the number of inmates in State and Territory jails across Australia from implementing -
*       Two recommended changes to Sentencing; and

*       Follow the precedent established in Canada and Switzerland, offer inmates identified or sentenced Never To Be Released 'assisted dying' by lethal injection

There were 43,028 adult prisoners in jails across Australia as at 30 June 2019.  At 30 June 2012, there were 29,383 inmates in Australian prisons.  That is an increase of 13,645 (46.43%) inmates in a mere seven years ostensibly due to Penal Populism.

Life Sentence (What is a life sentence?) notes inter alia that as at 30 June 2019 there were 2,088 inmates in Australian prisons serving a sentence of '20 years and over' or a 'Life Sentence' or 'Other'.

Manic Depression As Identified In Medical Reports/Journals/Articles provides several articles and reports on the mental health of inmates facing longer prison Sentences.

Below is an extract from 2009 NSW Inmate Health Survey: Key Findings Report

"Mental health

• The proportion of participants who had ever been assessed or treated by a doctor or psychiatrist for a mental health problem increased steadily from 39% in 1996 to 43% in 2001 to 49% in 2009."

Mindful of the above three paragraphs, casual empiricism of 35 Never to be Released Inmates in Australian Prisons and other URL threads in Australia's Most Heinous Criminals Condemned To A Life Sentence Marked Never To Be Released, in particular The Marshall Project  "Lifers deemed never to be released are dying a thousand deaths; experiencing a manic depressive QOL", suggests that approx. 50 Lifers would request 'assisted dying' within 12 months of legislation, and another 5 inmates request it each year thereafter.

Taking into account Two recommended changes to Sentencing and 'assisted dying', and by replacing approx. half of future Sentences with a Swift, Frightening and Painful Dose of Corporal Punishment for Suitable Male Criminals for most Criminal Activities (a far more effective/potent Deterrent), the number of inmates in Australian State and Territory jails would reduce by -

•  >25% circa within 10 years; and

•  >30% circa within 15 years. 

There would be no future Keith Owen Goodbun's muttering to his daughter as he shot his wife, “I can go to jail for 30 f---ing years and get a bed and breakfast every day,”
Goodbun told detectives during his police interview “I know where I'm going. And I'm quite f---ing happy about it, I tell you, quite happy about it."

Due to the inherent problems in adjusting back into society upon being released from jail, Recidivism ratios (relative to First Timer Offenders) would actually increase.  However, importantly the number of inmates in State and Territory jails across Australia would noticeably reduce.

Thence, Australia's prisons would then be better equipped to Rehabilitate the 98.5% circa of inmates capable of being restored to a somewhat productive life under the -

*        Restorative Justice Model Successfully Adopted in Scandinavia since the late 20th Century; and

*        Texas Justice Reinvestment, in particular Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses with Specialist Drug & Alcohol Treatment.

The above two recommended changes to Sentencing under criminal law within State and Territory jurisdictions in Australia, together with following the lead of Canada and Switzerland offering assisted dying to some inmates, would fly with the public. 'Ipso facto' in the new COVID world order, it would fly within cabinet rooms as well.

(iii)     EXPENDITURE ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Forecast reduction in expenditure costs for the Justice Sector that comprises Police services, Courts and Corrective services from implementing the -
*       Two recommended changes to Sentencing; and

*       Follow the precedent established in Canada and Switzerland, and offer inmates identified or sentenced Never To Be Released 'assisted dying' by lethal injection

Execution (by hanging) of One, Two or perhaps Three inmates annually that are convicted Beyond Any Doubt of Guilt of a Sadistic, Brutal, Premeditated, Unprovoked Crime that are 'marked', or would be candidates Never to be Released, after An Infliction of Corporal Punishment would reduce the burden on the Public Purse by $14,001,197 ($7,000,599 [average cost of 76 convicted murderers profiled in Section B and tabulated in Excel file 'Summary Prison Costs']  x 2 convicted murderers annually).  Based on 2019 costs, after 20 years that saving would be 20 times $14,001,197, namely $280,023,947 ($280m).

More importantly, a few examples annually of such an extreme Sentence would -

(a)      resonate a cogent Deterrent to reduce annual murder rates et al more than any other existing prevention initiative; that is the psychology of Japan executing 15 convicted murderers in 2018 which the Japanese public support; and

(b)      provide Justice for the Innocent Victims, Denunciation and enhance Community Protection.

Refer Productivity Commission 8 Corrective services interpretative material, in particular table 8A.1 - Real recurrent expenditure and table 8A.2 - Real net operating expenditure, 2018-19 dollars.  Nationally in 2018-19, expenditure (net of revenues) on Corrective Services was $3.643 billion for prisons and $0.712 billion for community corrections 2 (table 8A) = $4.356 billion.
Expenditure plus depreciation (matching expenditure reporting by other justice sector agencies) was almost $4.768 billion  – a real increase of 5.83 per cent from 2017-18 cost of $4.505 billion (table 8A.2 - cell U38).

Based on annual costs listed in Table CA.1 of Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services 2020 - PART C Justice, the Discussion Paper forecasts the $ expenditure reductions within the three components of the Justice Sector, namely Police services, Courts and Corrective services, for the 2nd year, 5th year, 10th year and 15th year, by embellishing Table CA.1. to  ForecastReductionInJusticeSectorExpenditure.xlsx.

ForecastReductionInJusticeSectorExpenditure_SummaryData.xlsx provides key data from the larger ForecastReductionInJusticeSectorExpenditure.xlsx.  Column Y of the SummaryData.xlsx evidences that if expenditure across the three components on Australia's Justice Sector increase at the same rate over the next 10 years, that those annual costs have increased over the previous 5 years, the Criminal Justice System annual expenditure in 10 years, namely 2028-29, would be $25.3b ($25,273,680,000).  Cell V9 aggregates the Total Criminal Justice Sector cost for 2018-'19 at $18.431 billion.

The Discussion Paper forecasts that by implementing the Two recommended changes to Sentencing and adopting the assisted dying structure applicable in Canada, our six States and two Territories, Criminal Justice System's annual expenditures in 2028-29 would be a demonstrably lower $16.85b ($16,850,738,000) than $25.3b if the imprisonment continues to increase at the same rate that it did over the last five years' rate.  This forecast $16.85b reduction is LESS THAN the 2018-19 actual expenditure of $18.43b to provide the Justice Sector in our six States and two Territories.

Below is an extract from Four Gears of Early Rehabilitation and Release:

"Based on the successes in Scandinavia and Texas Justice Reinvestment, Four Gears of Early Rehabilitation and Release would -

 (i)       reduce the $4.415 billion total net operating expenditure on prisons and community corrections 2017-'18 by $300 million pa within 5 years and up to a $1 billion within 10 years on a per capita basis;

 (ii)      (after 5 years of implementation) materially reduce the current unsustainable Recidivism/re-offending rates of -
 *       greater than 50% of inmates returning to jail within three years of release;
 *       to less than 40% within three years of release,
thereby approaching what it has in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland;

 (iii)     be a more effective Deterrent to others committing Non-Murderous Crimes; and

 (iv)     increase income tax coffers at the ATO by around ¹/6 of  ½% within 5 years and ¼ of 1% within 10 years."

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