[gregbradley]

Some nice posts here expousing the value of life and its to be cherished. I like the way Aussies found this to be horrifying and I did not really expect our politicians to get so upset. I found this very reassuring and a bit surprising. We really do have a good country here.

I think a couple of salient points here.

#1 - Do you really trust a Government with the right to kill its citizens because of crimes? (of course they get it right 100% of the time correct??). Can that then become perverted for political reasons to get rid of an opponent. Some people are very good at framing others and making them look bad.

# 2 - The main legal issue with the death penalty is there is never 100% certainty of guilt. So then in those few cases where they get it wrong then the Government would then become guilty of murder wouldn't it?

#3 - There is a difference in viewpoint between western countries like Australia and eastern/Asian countries. Life is precious here but in some countries with a high population etc life is not considered the same way so you get this difference of viewpoint about the importance of a life. That basically as far as I can see it is what is in play here. The difference in viewpoint about the value of a life.

#4 - The basic assumption here also is that a criminal cannot be reformed therefore its better to give them the death penalty to get rid of them. This is not true. A persons right to their own life is a basic human right and Govts who should be setting a good example should honour that. Otherwise the set the tone for a barbarism and appeal to the lowest common denominator in their society. In a way they are letting criminals set the tone of the justice system. They killed directly or indirectly so its Ok if we kill.

I like the way the Australian Govt got rid of the death penalty some time ago and rose above this and strove to be run at a higher level. Its something we should be thankful for.

Greg.