Minister backs death penalty
Published 18 Aug 2011 09:30
A minister has backed a controversial petition calling for the return of the death penalty.
Reverend William Macleod, from the Knightswood Free Church Continuing, in Fulton Street, believes capital punishment should be reinstated.
The e-petition system was only launched by Westminster three weeks ago and 40 of the first 200 petitions called for the return of capital punishment, with the most popular attracting more than 1,000 signatures.
However, a counter-petition opposing the return of the death penalty was quickly launched and attracted more than 2,700 signatures.
A petition with more than 100,000 signatures qualifies for a debate in Parliament.
Reverend Macleod said: "So often today people are disgusted and angered by despicable crimes, such as terrorist attacks, paedophilia and the brutal killing of children, yet feel so helpless to do anything about it. Murderers get off with just a few years in prison.
"Capital punishment acts as a deterrent for the good of society - the murderous criminal who is executed will certainly not be committing any more hideous crimes.
"God demands 'Whoso sheds man's blood by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man'.
"I wholeheartedly believe that the more the country returns to the Bible, the better a nation we will be."
Reverend Macleod is part of a group of ministers who broke away from the main free church 11 years ago.
The main Free Church of Scotland did not want to make any comment on the issue.
However, mainstream religious opinion appears to be against the return of the death penalty, with the Church of Scotland in opposition. Reverend Ian Galloway, convenor of the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland, said: "The Church of Scotland opposes capital punishment for three main reasons - firstly, revenge or retribution is not a moral position for an enlightened and civilised society.
"Secondly, the chance of a miscarriage of justice may mean that an innocent person is killed.
"Thirdly, it is for the supporters of the death penalty to prove beyond doubt that bringing back hanging will deter crime.
"There is no statistical evidence to suggest that having the death penalty deters terrorists or murderers."
Human rights group Amnesty International, which has groups in Clydebank, also opposes the return of the death penalty.
Amnesty programme director for Scotland, John Watson, said: "In our experience public support for the death penalty falls dramatically when people are confronted with the grim reality of what it means to put a person on trial for their life and then kill them.
"One of the reasons the UK abolished the death penalty decades ago was public concern over miscarriages of justice.
"The rest of the world is actually turning its back on the cruelty of the death penalty not least because of a lack of evidence that it even deters crime."
This article appeared in Clydebank Post 18 Aug 11
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.
