[Ruth]

I don't agree with the death penalty...it's not so much that I don't think people like Ian Huntley for example deserves to die for what he has done - more that I think, what right has anybody else to make that decision about his life? By administering the death penalty, it's like saying, "you can't kill people on your terms, but it's okay for us to kill people on our terms." I'm sorry, I just don't agree with the death penalty, and I can't make exceptions.

Regarding the financial issue - I often hear people say "why should we pay to keep these people in prison?" The fact is that if the death penalty were reintroduced to Britain, anyone sentenced to it, would have appeal after appeal after appeal after appeal. Those appeals would run into 10s of thousands of pounds, if not 100s of thousands of pounds, and it would be the taxpayers paying for it. We would probably end up paying more than it would cost to keep them in prison for the rest of their life.

Don't get me wrong, if Ian Huntley (again, as an example) decided to kill himself, I wouldn't shed any tears; but I don't think that you or I have the right to make the decision for him. Just as he had no right to make the decision for Holly and Jessica. The death penalty is people saying, "killing is wrong unless we decide to do it."

And to be honest - I pay my taxes partly in order to keep these scum off the streets. No - I don't mind contributing towards keeping the streets safe and keeping these people in prison. I have a problem with how lenient our sentences in Britain are, but that's a different issue entirely.