Comments on: Guest post; Should Canada bring back the death penalty?

By: Vasper85

Vasper85 — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 20:28:43 +0000

I have a slightly different take that stems from common law back in the days when outlaw literally meant “to stand outside of the protection of law”. The courts can establish guilt or innocence, once accomplished publicize the findings, then give the aggrieved party a choice: to have the offender submit to the law and make reparations to the aggrieved, or to choose exile (for the most serious offenses) and have the offender stripped of the protection of the law and citizenship. If they choose the latter, the offenders are let go, but any act against them would be nonpunishable as they no longer have any standing in society.

Hence Pickton could be driven off his farm, have his property confiscated\destroyed, even have his life taken, and there would be no repercussions. A status of exile can only be revoked by the aggrieved party. This is better than having serial murderers sit in prison, unable to make amends, unable to be rehabilitated, a drag on society, for life.

By: Observer

Observer — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 17:23:06 +0000

Agree with Kate. Killing to punish killing? Who then kills the killer of the killer?

By: kate dyson

kate dyson — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 04:32:39 +0000

I do not support the death penalty…so I vote no…life without parole…

By: WendiG

WendiG — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 19:00:57 +0000

Capital punishment should never be reinstated for a variety of reasons, but the one so implicit in this ‘letter’ is the only one I’ll tackle, for now…
How can anyone dispute the insanity of the acts perpetrated by the individuals that are discussed…as well, there are so many questions about the involvement of others, especially in the Pickton case, that it seems even more insane to talk capital punishment because of the obvious mental shortcomings of the only one who got caught in this mass murder..
I was just as relieved as anyone else when Clifford Olson bit the dust…but would his demise have been any ‘better’ had it happened a few years ago, instead of now?
Once a person is killed, that is the end of it..no discussions, no looking back on his crimes, and most of all, no educable moments for our children and understanding of the results of untreated mental issues…
I have no doubt that Willie Pickton participated in the murder of some of the victims; I also have absolutely no doubt that he did not act alone..it is common rumour in the Lower Mainland that there were several others involved, and that the farm was a ‘murder dump’ for more than just Willie Pickton…will we ever know..will the loved ones of these victims ever have closure? Does the death penalty have any solace for those left behind? For some perhaps..but it leaves the big questions unanswered – and may in fact be State-sanctioned murder of an innocent person because of wrongful conviction..all we have to do is look at people like David Millgard spending years in jail for something he didn’t do..and as a possibly capital crime, he would have been wrongfully executed, as well, which seems to happen with regularity in the States…whoops, my bad! doesn’t quite get it…except in places like Texas..but here in Canada I would hope that we are more intelligent, and more civilized.