Today, I accepted an invitation from GB News to debate the death penalty.
I am very clear that Rudakubana does not deserve to keep his life but there are good reasons why we do not have the death penalty in the UK.
The moral weight of crime and punishment
There is no denying that some crimes are so heinous, so devastating, that they test our capacity for mercy. Individuals who commit such acts do not deserve to live. This instinct arises from our deep sense of justice and the desire to see a proportional response to unimaginable wrongs.
It is also a reflection of the need to uphold societal norms and deter the most grievous offences.
The irreversibility of the death penalty
However, the death penalty carries a weight of its own: its finality.
If a mistake is made in sentencing, there is no way to undo it. Alas, history is replete with examples of individuals who were later exonerated through new evidence, confessions, or advancements in forensic science.
A wrongful execution is not merely a legal failing; it is a moral catastrophe that undermines the very justice the system seeks to deliver.
The risk of fallibility in justice systems
No system of justice is perfect. Biases, errors in investigation, or overzealous prosecution can lead to miscarriages of justice. While some argue that the risk of error is minimal, even the smallest possibility of executing an innocent person must give us pause.
The death penalty, once enacted, leaves no room for redemption, restitution, or reconsideration.
The role of a just society
A society's justice system should reflect its values. By rejecting the death penalty, a society signals its commitment to human dignity, even in the face of inhuman acts, thereby rejecting the basis of the mass crimes of the past committed by tyrannical states.
This does not mean condoning or excusing crime; it is a recognition that justice must be tempered with humility, acknowledging our capacity for error.
Alternatives that ensure safety and accountability
Life imprisonment without parole offers a means of protecting society from dangerous individuals while allowing for the possibility of correcting errors. It also spares the state from the moral and financial burden of executing its citizens, often after lengthy and expensive legal processes.
The operation of the death sentence
The USA has the death penalty but heinous crimes continue there.
In the USA, on the basis of their constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, the death penalty has sometimes been subject to moratorium and then reinstatement. Bifurcated trials provide separate phases for guilt and sentencing, increasing cost and the suffering of witnesses.
In the USA, there are controversies over racial disparities, wrongful convictions, cost and declining public support. Lengthy trials, appeals and the cost of incarcerating death row prisoners all lead to costs being higher for the death penalty than for life sentences1.
In the USA, use of the death sentence is in decline and abolition continues.
Even in the armed forces for crimes committed in war, the death sentence has been abolished in the UK2.
Conclusion
Many of us feel, in our instinct and our hearts, that certain criminals do not deserve to live. But the question we must ask ourselves soberly is not what they deserve, but what kind of society we want to build and what lessons we must learn from the past.
Do we want a society where justice is irrevocable and sometimes flawed, or one where we leave room for both accountability and error? Are we sure we wish the state to operate the apparatus of execution?
I agree that Rudakubana deserves the death penalty. But I could not support its reinstatement.
For example: “Florida has estimated that the true cost of each execution is approximately $3.2 million, or approximately 6 times what it would cost to keep the person in prison for life.” https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/capital-punishment-or-life-imprisonment-some-cost-considerations
Human Rights Act 1998: Section 21(5) of this Act completely abolished the death penalty in the UK, including for military offences. Prior to this, capital punishment remained for specific military crimes, but no executions had been carried out for several decades. https://www.bihr.org.uk/get-informed/what-rights-do-i-have/abolition-of-the-death-penalty
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