Comments on: 1950: James Corbitt, the hangman’s mate

By: ExecutedToday.com » Executed Today’s Second Annual Report: Once Bitten, Twice Die

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:42:41 +0000

[...] third page. Play the mp3, and be sure to join the comment thread’s ideological pissing match! 21. November 28, 1950: James Corbitt - This post is really about prolific British hangman Albert Pierrepoint, on the occasion of his [...]

By: Walter Skinner

Walter Skinner — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:13:23 +0000

The very idea that the death penalty is a deterrent is horribly misplaced. How does execution deter the person who committed the crime? It doesn’t.
Does the death penalty deter anyone from a crime worthy of execution? NO! Just as prisons do not deter thieves, sex offenders, liars, and others guilty of their crimes.
So, we must ask ourselves what purpose do prisons serve? They separate criminals from those of us free and place them in positions where they no longer are.
What purpose does execution serve? It’s purpose is threefold: first, it follows the law; second, it stops the criminal from committing any further crimes; and third, is meant to provide the most severe form of punishment.
Equating capital punishment with the same thing as a “Do Not Touch - Wet Paint” sign is foolish.
Would I want to be an executioner? I don’t believe I have what it takes to be one. An executioner’s job is an operation of law.
Why call an executioner a murderer? He/she is only carrying out that portion of the law that requires the condemned to face the punishment of his or her crime.
An executioner is no more a murderer than the jury that convicted or the judge that pronounced sentence or the warden where the execution takes place.
Finally, abolishing capital punishment goes against the grain of the law. For every form of capital punishment the state invokes, there will be a host of those opposed to it as cruel & unusual or inhumane.
Was Mr. Pierrepoint a bad man? No, though I’m convinced he felt bad about some of his work. Was he a murderer? Hardly.

By: ExecutedToday.com » 1953: Derek Bentley, controversially

ExecutedToday.com » 1953: Derek Bentley, controversially — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:55:40 +0000

[...] 28th, 2009 Headsman On this date in 1953, Derek William Bentley was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint in London’s Wandsworth Prison for a murder committed by a [...]

By: ExecutedToday.com » 1945: The Belsen war criminals

ExecutedToday.com » 1945: The Belsen war criminals — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:28:53 +0000

[...] 13th, 2008 Headsman On this date in 1945, British hangman Albert Pierrepoint executed eleven guards of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and two other Nazis in occupied [...]