by Warrior Woman

Created on: April 09, 2009

I live in Australia where the Death Penalty was banished many years ago, so it's not really an issue that arises here, unless a particularly heinous crime, such as the murder of Anity Cobby, is committed, and then there is a call for it to be re-instated.

When I was younger I strongly believed in the Death Penalty - I thought that if these people chose to commit the type of crime that attracts the Death Penalty, then they deserved to die. After all - they are aware of the consequences and they still choose to commit the crime. But then I read about Timothy Evans, who was executed in the UK in the 50's, after being found guilty of the murder of his wife/child - one of the two - he was acquitted of the other due to a lack of evidence. However, it turned out that the serial killer, John Reginald Halliday Christie, was responsible for the death of both Timothy Evans wife and child, and it cast an enormous amount of doubt on the way I viewed the issue.

I also met Frederick Fairfax, a retired Detective Constable who now lives in Australia, and who was present at the Bentley/Craig incident. This is a famous case from the 50's in the Uk, which has raised much debate, even to this day, regarding the Death Penalty. Derek Bentley 19, and Christopher Craig 16, were two petty criminals caught by the police on the roof of a building, having just broken into the place. Derek Bentley was being physically held by Frederick Fairfax and Christopher Craig was ordered to surrender. At this point Derek Bentley yelled out "Let him have it, Chris", to which Christopher Craig commenced firing his gun, wounding Frederick Fairfax in the shoulder. Derek Bentley was hung but Christopher Craig wasn't due to his young age. The debate is to whether the meaning of "Let him have it" referred to Christopher Craig handing his weapon over to the police, or whether it meant for him to start shooting, which is what he did. Frederick Fairfax emphatically insists that Derek Bentley meant for Christopher Craig to shoot.

It happens too often that a person is committed to prison or handed down the death penalty, by an inadequate justice system and a jury that just doesn't have the technical knowledge to understand the case fully. This is not the juries fault however, as they are given a very tough job, deciding someone elses guilt or innocence. I don't think a persons life should be decided by a jury but that's a whole different debate.

These days, some prisons are like holiday resorts. The inmates have

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