Capital punishment can save lives

THE EDITOR: The organisation Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL) has received widespread coverage in the regional press whereby it is critical of the call by the Caribbean Federation of Police Welfare Associations for a mandatory death sentence for anyone found guilty of killing a police officer.

In the interest of balance, I wish to offer an alternative view to GCL's.

I support the confederation and extend the death penalty to all murders, gun-related offences, kidnapping, and the importation/sale of certain illegal drugs, beyond a determined amount.

The GCL claims the death penalty it is no deterrent to murder and cites statistics from Texas where there is a higher rate of executions than elsewhere in the US, but
the rate of killings of police officers is higher.

Has the GCL looked to the detection and prosecution rate in Texas?

For obvious reasons, the GCL has not cited the very effective impact the death penalty has had on murder rates in Singapore.

In Singapore there were ten murders in 2021, according to my internet research. The death penalty is also applicable for 32 other offences, including the ones I mentioned earlier, in Singapore.

For the death penalty to be an effective deterrent, there must be a high detection rate and it must be carried out expeditiously, once all avenues of appeal are dealt with according to law.

No matter what you do, you cannot completely eliminate any crime, including murder. However, most people fear death and therefore, where there is a high detection rate and expeditious carrying out of the deatlh penalty, I am certain deterrence against serious crimes is effective.

Saving the lives of law-abiding citizens must remain a top priority. Singapore has demonstrated that when we deter murders, we save lives.

In a population of 1.4 million, TT has seen over 525 murders so far this year. Singapore, with a population of 5.7 million, had ten murders for all of 2021.

The GCL says more and better-trained police officers, reducing drug abuse and a reduction in unemployment are much more effective and lasting deterrents to murder than capital punishment.

I agree these matters need to be addressed, However, individuals who commit murder have a certain psychological profile and the absence of meaningful consequences only serves to empower them.

It has been said that evil prevails when good men do nothing. We must summon the courage to vanquish evil. Murderers have no respect for our lives. We have a duty to ensure they forfeit theirs when they are found guilty. Appeasement does not work. We are at war with these miscreants.

LOUIS W WILLIAMS

St Augustine