Flawed Reasoning for Opposing the Death Penalty

ACT MP Law & Order spokesman David Garrett writes on his blog about why the death penalty would not work in New Zealand in response to an article by Cactus Kate calling for the death penalty to be introduced with recent posterboys including psychopath Clayton Weatherston who killed his girlfriend by stabbing her 216 times.

As some readers will know, I have in the past (prior to my involvement with ACT) advocated a return of the death penalty for our worst murderers – the Bells, the Rufus Marsh’s  and the Burtons.

After ten years reflection, I have now changed my view somewhat. While most people wouldn’t have much of a problem if Bell or Burton were executed, as a matter of public policy it becomes very problematic.

Having lived in a country where the death penalty remains on the books as a discretionary sentence for murder, I can say with some certainty that one of the results of having a capital sentence even as an option  is what lawyers call “perverse verdicts” by juries unwilling to convict because they know or believe the person concerned will be executed, and they cannot cope with that on their collective conscience.

The question of whether or not the death penalty would be enforceable or workable should come after the discussion on its justification. To rule out bringing in the death penalty because some juries were emotionally compromised is a pragmatic response to the issue. Garrett states that life without parole (LWOP) is probably a worse penalty than being sentenced to death, and he's probably right - but a worse penalty for who? With New Zealand's tax-payer funded prison system, incarceration is merely a no-frills holiday with a varying range of lifestyle options including low-paid work, education and drug-use. That's not to trivialise some of the abuse that goes on within prisons however the real question here is, why should society suffer twice at the hands of the offender. First when the offender commits a crime deemed worthy of LWOP, and then second when they pay for his existence until death.

"They Meant it for Evil but God used it for Good"

Alerted to Pastor Walter Hoye's imprisonment at JillStanek.com, I wrote a letter to him while he was incarcerated in Santa Rita jail, California. Hoye is a huge encouragement, and a shining example of what it means to be a man of conviction. Below is the first bit of the article at WorldMag.com. Be sure to continue reading...

For 19 days in March and April, Walter Hoye was locked in a cell with 29 other prisoners at the Santa Rita jail near Oakland, Calif. There were times when he wished he could have stayed longer.

When the metal door first clanged shut behind him on March 20, Hoye, 52, decided the space was really more of a cage than a cell. A metal grid penning in prisoners. Fifteen bunks lining two walls. Two toilets and a urinal for all 30 men, and a shower that inmates had gradually transformed into a pornographic shrine.

As Hoye made his way to an empty bunk, a few prisoners, mostly black and Latino, dogged his path. "You smuggle in any drugs, man?" one of them asked.

"No," Hoye said quietly.

Then the veteran inmates left him alone, he told me, except for "one of the brothers who was kind enough to help me make up my bed."

A few minutes later, another man walked over to Hoye's bunk and jabbed his finger at a newspaper he was holding. "This you?" he said, eyeing Hoye skeptically.

Hoye peered at the Oakland Tribune headline: "Anti-abortion pastor chooses jail."

"Yeah, that's me," he said.

In the next moment, the inmate was striding up and down the length of the cell, announcing, "Hey, he don't have to be here! He turned down probation! He doing straight time for what he believed in!"

Click here to continue reading...

Full Restitution Bill Proposed

Our Free Land is a recently formed lobby group, whose vision is to, "empower the people of New Zealand so that Parliament becomes the servant and not the master of the free population of our country." I like that goal and so far, from what I've seen of their policies, they are definitely on the right track. You can visit their website here, www.ourfreeland.co.nz. Here is some information on their proposed Full Restitution Bill, which would be a huge improvement to New Zealand's justice system.

Bill #5: Small time criminals involved in welfare fraud or identity theft or those who have gained money or goods by dishonest means must make full restitution within 3 months of conviction.

Criminals who steal and use other peoples credit cards, cheque books or personal belongings must make full restitution within 3 months once convicted or they are sent to work full time together with those convicted of crimes worthy of a prison sentence.

After they have paid off their debt they may return to their former employment or continue working as do those who get the dole (see below).

For far too long small time crooks, after conviction, still been able to get away with refusing to pay their court-ordered fines or the restitution owing to individuals. We have large numbers of people who after years of waiting have still not been paid the money owed to them.

With this Bill Proposal we are not addressing large scale payments still owing. Rather, it is the small amounts that could be worked off in a matter of weeks or months that we want to deal with here.

When small-time criminals feel that the Justice System of our country has no teeth, they correctly get the impression that they can continue to get away with this kind of activity with impunity.

That all stops with the introduction of this Bill. No longer will the Justice System of NZ be the farce it is seen to be by many (both the criminal element and those who were their victims).

To make sure payment occurs, all restitution must go through a central tracking system before being sent out to those to whom it belongs. This way the onus is no longer on the victim to have to extract the money from the criminal - it has passed to the Courts and Police to make it happen.

For too long victims of this type of crime have not received the justice due to them. It is time to make amends and put it right.

It is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't go far enough. The particular brand of criminals being dealt with here should be made to pay back three times the amount that they have damaged/stolen. Also, prisons should not be run at the expense of the tax-payer. We should privatise prisons, with the possibility of some even turning into profitable ventures. Prisoners should no longer fill their days with idleness and boredom, but should instead be instilled with a sense of duty and purpose by making them pay their way throughout their imprisonment.  Full restitution should be seen as just as important as rehabilitation.