The death sentence is alive

Capital punishment is meant to be outlawed. Most civilised countries have seen an end to such practises. The state of Michigan was one of the first places in the world to abolish the death penalty, in 1846. Venezuela followed in 1863. Portugal was the first country in Europe to get rid of the awful practise of state murder in 1867. By the mid-1960s, 25 European countries had abolished the death sentence, Holland being the first and Britain being the last.

The only way that Parliament could be satisfied with the abolition of the death sentence was by the introduction of a life sentence, which is essentially 99 years. Though you were given a punishment part, it really has no value, Well, certainly not here in Scotland.

I would argue that here in Scotland the death sentence is alive and very much active. It is simply taken on a new form. The drop is now a long slow process, but with the same result: you die in prison. I like to call this new adapted capital punishment ‘death by incarceration’.

The Scottish prison system have become masters at this process of the destruction of human life. This is why not a single person who has been given a punishment-part tariff is ready for release by the time they go for their first tribunal. And it does not matter whether your tariff is six months or 20 years, you are going over it by years – in line with the prison system policy of death by incarceration.

Remember, not all deaths are warranted. Killing someone’s future is still a form of death. There are around 1,000 people in Scotland serving life sentences or Orders of Lifelong Restriction, and currently 600 of those are over tariff. Which shows capital punishment lives, and the prison system is happy to dish that out to anyone.