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| Originally Posted by philthy Of course it's different.
Society expects a police officer to put his or her life on the line for YOU and your family.
Most of us would rather that the average policeman on shift did not carry a firearm when dealing with criminals. That means that we expect them on occasion to face up to someone with a firearm without any real defence except the uniform.
If the criminal serves say 7-10 years max for murdering the police officer, then quite frankly he may as well put the officer into a bodybag and take his chance. If he thinks he will hang then he just might give up his weapon. And quite frankly if he still goes ahead and kills the officer then he should forfeit his life in return.
And that should go for the whole gang involved, not just the one who pulls the trigger. Gun crime is endemic and the only way we will put a brake on it is to show criminals that the ordinary man in the street is in charge and not the bully with a gun in his hand.
I'm sorry Urban but it's people with liberal attitudes who have allowed the criminal to take over from the man in the street, and it's about time that we redressed the balance. |
Sorry Phil,
Not sure I can agree with you here. Yes, I fully take your point that we expect Police to stand up and protect us with nothing more than their uniform to protect them, and despite all complaints we constantly hear, I'm grateful to them for the work they do, and I'm happy to live in a society where I'm not afraid of the Police themselves, but I have to ask, does the death penalty work as a deterrant? I think not.
Take the US as an example - it's been cited further on in this thread - Everyone has the right to bear arms, and plenty of people carry weapons, and there is also the death penalty to act as a deterrent, so why do people still kill each other? Do they stop on the brink of pulling the trigger and think, oh hang on, I might get a lethal injection for this? Some might, but then they are more than likely the ones who wouldn't do it in the first place. The fact is, in the US, they regularly execute people, so the death penalty is hardly acting as a deterrent.
It may well be people with liberal attitudes who have allowed the criminal to take over from the man in the street, but that has nothing to do with the killing people - prison is a soft option for most crimes these days. Proper sentancing, life meaning life, and old-fashioned tough conditions inside I am all in favour of, but please don't try to suggest to me that anyone has the supreme authority to order the taking of another human life.
Martin