Godless UK: Time To Restore The Death Penalty?
Glasgow police release CCTV image of two men after late night attack in city centre
Stabbing victim fights for life after attack at London’s Liverpool Street station
An Edinburgh man has been left shaken after being threatened as he drove his motorbike by two yobs with a blade. Rory Pieres was driving his own motorbike along Calder Road when two men pulled up alongside him as they were doing 40mph down the city road. Rory saw them acting threateningly towards him, attempting to pull something, which Rory believes to be a knife, out of their bag and staring him down.
An attempted public murder of a senior gang member caused a nine-year-old girl to be mistakenly shot dead while being shielded by her mother inside her Liverpool home.
Editor writes…
Violence is escalating across the UK, with daily reports of stabbings and shootings, which very often end in death. The above is a small random selection from some of this week’s news reports. There’s plenty more out there. Murder is commonplace. So, the question of how to deal with this increasing lawlessness is being raised in news programmes, the key question being “should life mean life?” for those convicted of murder. Nobody is asking if it’s time to reinstate the death penalty – that seems to be a non-starter. Catholics widely believe that the Church’s teaching on this has changed – not true; check it out here, here, and here.
So, while the current Godlessness reigns supreme in each of the countries of the UK, is it now time to restore the ultimate penalty for the ultimate sin and crime of murder? if someone takes the life of another, shouldn’t they sacrifice their own right to life?
The bishops of the UK remain silent throughout this escalating violence as they do in every other crisis, whether secular or religious. The clergy just don’t seem to understand that they could make a difference, if only they would show some leadership. Indeed, they scarcely pay any attention to the needs of their own faithful, let alone the state of wider society.
Only today, for example, I heard about a priest (Fr Smith) who held a small “healing” service after Mass last Sunday morning. He invited anyone with special intentions to approach him at the front of the altar for a blessing. One man, Eddie, got in line and when it was his turn, he asked that the priest would pray for his hearing. Fr Smith put one finger of one hand on Eddie’s ear, and placed the other hand on top of Eddie’s head, praying over him. After a few minutes, he stood back and asked: “how is your hearing now?” to which Eddie replied: “I don’t know. My hearing is actually next Thursday in the magistrate court.”
Your thoughts 😀
Comments (26)
The death penalty did have a deterrent effect, but it, even more importantly, it underscored like nothing else the sacrality of human life and the terrible nature of its being taken gratuitously at the hands of another. (That said, I do not think that it is the worst penalty that can be inflicted. Life imprisonment is, in my opinion, much worse from the point of view of the prisoner. But that is not the point.)
I would like to see a return of the death penalty for premeditated murder. I think that knife-wielding yobs would think twice about their violent actions if the punishment were an appointment with the cat o’ nine tails followed by several years of hard labour (and even if they wouldn’t, it would be a fitting punishment all the same). I even think that there is a place for corporal punishment in schools. But I very much doubt that our snowflake culture would be capable of handling anything as morally weighty as the death penalty, let alone judicial or school corporal punishment. The difference between right and wrong has been utterly and wilfully muddled; we now view evil as sickness, thus destroying any semblance of personal responsibility. Collectively we would much prefer just to sit there until we are murdered in our beds, secure in the knowledge that we are sooooooo civilised, basically because the mass media — to whom we have in large measure farmed out our consciences — tell us that we are.
Leitourgos,
I would say that, even more important than underscoring the sacredness of human life, important thought that is, the death penalty underscores the fact that life (for that person) will end at a specific time, on a specific day and they need to prepare to face their final Judge. That is a sobering thought and it might help end the Godlessness which is in full view in the UK right now.
Lily,
You make a key point about the death penalty. It makes the guilty party think about their eternal salvation. Give up the appeals to live longer on this earth and focus on preparing for the next one, that’s the positive message to send to those who think of the death penalty as a negative thing, as if this life were all there is to take into consideration.
I always think of the conversion of a death row inmate when this subject comes up. I found the link – a very uplifting, credible story.
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/the-amazing-conversion-of-death-row-inmate-claude-newman
MM,
Many thanks for posting the story of Claude Newman – a wonderfully edifying account of how the death penalty does help in the salvation of otherwise possibly lost souls.
I love that story of Claude Newman – I read it before and will read it again, thanks for the link. It is quite a thought that a soul might actually be saved because of the death penalty and having to face up to the reality of judgment.
The thing that helps me to overcome my concerns about the possible execution of an innocent person is that that injustice also might prove to be the saving grace for that soul. God is the Just Judge, and an innocent person being put to death who decides to offer up that injustice for his/her sins, would be rewarded by God – he is never outdone in generosity.
Nicky,
Your concern about the innocent being wrongly executed is a common one, and it’s natural to have such concerns. I think everyone shares that concern. However, these days, there is very little chance that an innocent person will be put to death, given the use of DNA and other technological means of gathering evidence, not to mention the appeals process – which I just did 😀
Sound spiritual provision offered to those convicted of death should, hopefully, lead to conversion and true repentance of the kind that would see the guilty gladly accept their death as a means of reparation for their sin(s) and crime. In the same way, an unjust death, humanly speaking (for none of us is truly innocent before God), will help that wrongly convicted person at his judgment. Whether guilty or innocent, in other words, capital punishment can be the means of saving the souls of those condemned to death.
Obviously, that’s not going to convince any atheists or agnostics. That’s what they call “too bad”. We’ve had enough of Godlessness – time to restore right-thinking and good order.
Leitourgos,
I totally agree with everything you say.
Leitourgos,
I do too – your arguments are clear and irrefutable. There is no question that thugs intent on stabbing and shooting people, or beating them to death, would think twice if they thought that they were going to literally lose their own life once caught and convicted.
The whole discipline of society has broken down and it begins in childhood. Now that parents can’t even smack a naughty child, things will get progressively worse. Imagine, a parent can’t smack their own child, and it’s no wonder murderers walk free from jail after a few short years for, laughably, “good behaviour”.
It’s not that anyone thinks the smacking will cure the child of doing wrong, but it’s the fact that the child knows (or knew) that there would be a bit of physical pain waiting for him or her if he disobeyed parents and teachers, that’s the issue. There has to be an authority, authority figures who can act against you if you do wrong. That’s now missing in our society. People are literally getting away with murder.
In America, you can steal up to $100 of goods (I think that’s the amount) and nobody can touch you. No security guard in the shop, no police officer. So, now there is looting in the stores and the country is in chaos. It’ll soon be like that here. It’s bad enough as it is, but it will get worse. What happens in the States today, happens here tomorrow, sort of thing.
Margaret Mary
That sounds like they’ve legalised stealing in America! How bizarre!
Josephine,
If they legalise stealing here, it won’t matter, most of us are broke now, thanks to our soaring energy bills, so there’ll be nothing worth stealing, at least in my house, LOL!
The reports of violent attacks in Glasgow, as elsewhere, keep coming. Here’s a report about assaults in Springburn Park which is opposite the parish church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Balornock. I’ve signed the petition and urge others to take a minute to do so, as well.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/glasgow-park-sexual-assault-sparks-petition-for-cctv-cameras-to-be-installed/ar-AA115Nkv?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=4ec278328149aa4b8ede150d81096481
editor,
Gosh, I know that park. It’s when you hear about something like this happening in a place you know quite well, that it hits home. Those poor women being assaulted – and in broad daylight. That’s just awful.
I wonder if the increase in attacks has anything to do with the UK being flooded with migrants from certain parts of the world….if you catch my drift….
Just to add a peculiar thought: in a way, those condemned to death for a crime have a certain advantage over the rest of us. For the vast majority of us creatures, we do not know when death with overtake us – yet, for those facing execution, they know exactly when that will happen, and they can prepare accordingly (assuming, that is, that there is a faithful priest on hand to help them).
Victor I have no doubt that the Flood of Illegal Immigrants has a strong bearing on Violent Crime especially amongst those who cannot be mentioned IE the Religion of Peace. Nearly every so called Sexual Syndicate is full of those of The Religion of Peace and it is never called out.
As most of us say over here “We have enough criminals of our own without importing them “.
As for Murder. Their is a family near me who had someone Murdered and the Murderer was out in 9 Years. It’s a terrible thing for the Family of the Victim to know that they could come Face to Face with someone who killed their Father. As for the Death Penalty it was surely a deterrent as far as Ted Bundy was concerned.
Faith of our Fathers,
This video gives an excellent example of the kind of injustice you speak of, a family who underwent a terrible murder. This is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen on the death penalty. I agree with every word.
Laura,
Excellent video presentation. Prager-u strikes again! The case for capital punishment in a nutshell.
RCA Victor,
When Angela Merkel opened Germany’s borders to illegal immigrants there was a big increase in crime, assaults against young women, a big outbreak of violence at New Year time, that year. It caused a hue and cry in the European Union and loads of people who had been all for the open doors policy, then changed their minds when they saw the mayhem.
Here, the illegals coming on small boats across the channel are throwing their passports and phones into the water so they can’t be identified so there could be all sorts of criminals arriving day and daily with the politicians unable to do a thing about it. It’s a shocking disgrace, putting the entire population at risk because of their stupid politically correct mentality. So, I would not be surprised if some, at least, of these growing number of attacks are caused by people whose names and country of origin we don’t even know.
Having said that, we have had years and years of indiscipline in schools, parents reported to social workers if they look sideways at their misbehaving child in the street, and now parents banned from any form of corporal punishment, no matter how mild. Kids learn quickly. If they grow up getting their own way at every turn, then they’ll expect to go on getting their own way in society. The kind of culture we have seen developing this past few decades now, has created the perfect storm for the lawlessness we are now hearing about on the news every day.
The death penalty in the UK was abolished in 1964/65, but I cannot remember the reasons why. We do live in a Godless society and and all manners of vicious crimes including murder seems to be soaring no end. Life is seen as being cheap.
Yet, it is a good reminder from Margaret Mary about the conversion of Claude Newman prior to his execution.
I have also signed the Glasgow park sexual assault petition for cctv cameras to be installed.
Theresa Rose,
That’s a good question – what were the reasons why the death penalty was abolished in the UK. One thing is for sure – the public was never asked for our opinion. I can remember the hype, the debates, the usual suspects, liberal types in the media, pushing for abolition, but I can’t remember any referendum. I think if there was a referendum right now, there would be a call for the return of capital punishment. And not soon enough, IMHO.
This is a great priest speaking about the death penalty, criticising the pope on this, and he talks about the legitimacy of criticising superiors when necessary.
Fr Gerald Murray is always great – I’ve seen him on EWTN and other broadcasts, always clear and straight-talking.
I laughed when he said her was taking Pope Francis at his word by being critical of him, LOL!
Personally, although the thought of an innocent person being put to death does give me pause, I am generally in favour of bringing back capital punishment. Things are now so out of control, with people being stabbed in broad daylight (as in the case of Springburn Park mentioned above), and with judges handing down ridiculously light sentences for even serious crimes. To murder someone and be out in 9 years, as Faith of our Fathers mentions, is outrageous.
In our so compassionate, so sophisticated society, human life is not worth a pittance.
I remember a case from almost twenty years ago. A happily married man, the father of three young kids, was standing in a queue in a takeaway when a ned, out of his mind on drugs, simply walked in and stabbed him. To cut a very long story short, at the end of the day, the culprit did about five years in prison. That’s right: five years, for having snuffed out one life and wrecked countless others.
Just as the left is sooooo keen to spend other people’s money, so they are sooooo compassionate about other people’s misery.
Thanks to Margaret Mary for the link to the piece on Claude Newman. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that by execution the condemned expiated their sin. In fact, the traditional Catholic approach to the death penalty is heavily founded on expiation.
Leitourgos,
It’s that teaching of Aquinas about execution expiating sins (assuming repentance, or innocence, I take it) that helps me overcome my fear of an innocent person being put to death. When it really matters, they won’t lose out, but quite the reverse.
The story of Claude Newman is awesome – I agree.
I think the death penalty is appropriate for the most heinous crimes, especially if a conviction can be supported by DNA evidence for example
It’s opponents always argue “its not a deterrent” – but then I have always understood it primarily as a punishment (of course strong punishment can likely carry some deterrent effect, even if that is not its primary aim).
It is undoubtedly true that UK justice is very soft and politicians and courts are more concerned with managing the size (i.e cost) of the prison population, rather than implementing appropriate measures of justice.
I think corporal punishment would do much to reduce street violence / loutish behaviour / antisocial behaviour / habitual offending.
Current punishments – i.e short stays in what are essentially secure hotels are of no use to anyone.
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