The Reintroduction of Capital Punishment

Dear readers,

The New Conservative rarely makes any requests of its audience (which is of course as it should be), however on this particular occasion I should be most grateful if you would consider signing the attached petition on the reintroduction of the death penalty in Britain. 

Over the past few days I have been caught in something of a storm of protest at Monday’s piece on the Lucy Letby case, and I think those need to be addressed. First and foremost, it gives me zero pleasure to ‘convict’ and ‘execute’ the innocent. Unless I were personally involved in the case of such heinous crimes, it would give me zero pleasure to convict the guilty – other than my belief that justice would have been served. 

Second, I am well aware of the propensity for miscarriages of justice, and highlighted the need for extreme certainty in any potential uses of capital punishment in my piece. In the specific case of Lucy Letby, the evidence I have reviewed leads me to the conclusion that such a threshold has been met (as it did the jury); that does not of course mean that I dismiss those who have come to an alternative conclusion.

Third, I doubt there are many with a lower opinion of the NHS than myself, and I am perfectly willing to believe that the trust in question is concerned with nothing other than an arse-covering exercise. This would no doubt be infinitely preferable, not just for ‘raving right-wing nut-jobs’ like me, but also for the families in question – who I’m sure would prefer ‘run-of-the-mill NHS incompetence’ to ‘premeditated murder’. I do not however, see how this changes any of the facts of the case. 

Whatever your thoughts are on Lucy Letby or the case in question, I maintain that the principle of capital punishment is a correct one. If you believe in justice for the victims of the absolute worst crimes, please consider signing and sharing the petition, a précis of which is attached below.

Thank you. 

Frank Haviland, Editor. 

“The case of Lucy Letby has captured the public’s imagination, provoking righteous outrage at the alleged murder of newborn babies. While knee-jerk reactions are naturally to be avoided, after a suitable interval the debate on capital punishment must be reopened by parliament.

In the most extreme cases (infanticide, terrorism, mass murder, & treason), the government should make the death penalty available to judges as an alternative to life imprisonment.

Arguments against the death penalty are both substantial and compelling, which is why the following caveats are suggested:

1. That capital punishment could only be used in extremis, for the absolute worst crimes.
2. That capital punishment could only be used in cases of certainty – where a confession had been given, or where the video evidence was irrefutable.
3. That capital punishment could only be used at a judge’s discretion, and would require significant justification and authorisation.

Before all else, this is an issue of morality. In stealing the birthdays, the rites of passage, the future generations and the memories – not just from those you killed, but also from their families, you have destroyed not one, but multiple lives. Society much demand a penalty for that.

A reliable majority of the British public supports such a law, and a recent Spectator poll found that two-thirds support the death penalty in the case of child murders.”

Sign the petition

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