There are a number of cogent and incontrovertible reasons to be opposed to the idea of the death penalty. A number of these reasons can be found in the pro and anti death penalty arguments on the Capital Punishment UK site, which has also documented the history of the death penalty and its abolition in the UK and the practise of the death penalty throughout the world. Many are quite rightly worried that there is a danger of miscarriages of justice sending the innocent to the gallows and the question of whether or not capital punishment is a sufficient or effective deterrent to criminals. The capital punishment debate is one where there are strongly held views on both sides. But to me without a doubt capital punishment does achieve one positive thing and that it removes a dangerous criminal from circulation permanently and can protect others from their depredations.
When I read about what Michael Adebolajo, one of the of murderers of Fusilier Lee Rigby is up to in prison I found my mind returning to the capital punishment debate and in particular the question of whether some criminals are too damned dangerous to lock up with what might loosely be termed ‘ordinary decent criminals’ I look at what this man is doing and I find that there are good and moral reasons why this man’s life should have been forfeit. One of those good and moral reasons as I see it is the protection of other prisoners from this man’s influence. According to a report last month in the Daily Telegraph, Adebolajo, who is being described by the newspaper as being ‘charismatic’ is actively converting other prisoners to Islam and is given a position of respect by other prisoners. This activity by Adebolajo compounds and amplifies the evil that put him in prison in the first place, the murder of Fusilier Rigby. Adebolajo’s actions risks doing great harm both mental and otherwise to other prisoners and is likely to create yet more violent jihadis to afflict us when these converted prisoners are ultimately released.
Here’s what the Daily Telegraph said on the 31st October 2017 about Adebolajo and his activities in prison.
A Muslim extremist jailed for life after being convicted of the murder of soldier Lee Rigby is looked up to by fellow prisoners, a High Court judge has been told.
Michael Adebolajo was “charismatic” and intelligence suggested that he had helped convert other inmates to Islam, Mr Justice Langstaff heard.
Detail of the influence Adebolajo wielded in jail has emerged after he took legal action against the Ministry of Justice.
Adebolajo claims that he was injured by prison officers during an incident in a cell and wants compensation.
Although it is correct that Adebolajo has been caged for a whole life term, it’s plain that he is still a danger and is highly unlikely that he will cease to be a danger any time soon. His continued existence in the prison system creates extreme problems when it comes to protecting vulnerable prisoners and he has earned status for being a celebrity inmate among other prisoners, neither of which are desirable things to have in our prison system.
His status among prisoners and his charismatic manner is pulling ordinary prisoners into the sick ideology that led him and the other Islamic savage that he worked with to kill a British soldier. Adebolajo is not going to be a model prisoner, he’s going to be a constant pain in the arse with vexatious litigation against the prison service and the state and the likelihood that his actions among other prisoners are going to be key to the creation of future dangerous jihadis in the future. Society has little to gain by keeping this man alive and maybe a lot more to gain by removing him from this earth. Some may counsel that executing the likes of Adebolajo will be counterproductive and will create martyrs who will inspire other violent Islamic savages, but would killing him create any worse a situation that what exists already? He’s alive and influencing others into following the same path as he did and this is going to end up with future tragedies, both to the victims of Adebolajo’s acolytes and to those who have followed Adebolajo on the path of evil.
Many of the worries that decent and reasonable people may have about the death penalty do not apply to Adebolajo. There is no question of his conviction being a miscarriage of justice as Adebolajo is 100% guilty. There are few if any extenuating circumstances such as mental illness or temporary disturbance that could be applied to him that might spare him the noose. His crime was shocking, deliberate and planned. Also, most pertinent to this case, is the fact that he is an ongoing danger, not just to other prisoners but to the rest of us via the potential actions of his acolytes. I fail to see how killing this savage would be any worse than keeping him alive.
The death penalty is a serious business and should not be applied willy nilly to all or most killers as there are degrees of homicide and not just between murder and manslaughter but within the category of murder itself. A person who kills another in a street fight for example where there is proof of intent to kill, which is what comprises murder, may change and reform and you can make a good case for sparing such people the punishment of death. But for Adebolajo and those like him well it’s highly unlikely that they will ever reform and much more likely that they will continue to be a danger to others.
I wonder and worry about how much damage he will do to others and to the nation during his probably 40+ years incarceration? How many vulnerable prisoners will be turned into violent threatening jihadis by his actions and how many innocent lives will such individuals take in future attacks? This man looks as if he could well be a whole lot of trouble for the future and will be a problem for a long time to come. All the problems that Adebolajo is causing and will cause in prison, could have been solved by a 20 second walk from the condemned cell to the gallows and the punishment of death. I believe that there are very few criminals who truly deserve death as many criminals are stupid and should people be put to death for being stupid? Well maybe not, but Adebolajo must surely be one of those, who if it was legally possible, should face the ultimate judicial punishment.
