FLOGGING AND EXECUTION
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—The Criminal Justice Bill seeks to abolish flogging while at the same time retaining the death sentence. I find myself wanting to retain flogging and abolish the death sentence. This personal sentiment is probably emotional and, in any case, of no interest to anyone but myself.
But when I try to rationalise my feelings in this matter, it appears to me that every argument for the abolition of flogging can be used with much greater force for the abolition of the death sentence. If we may be guided by public opinion, it is more degrading to be a public executioner than a flogger : and the same, surely, can be said of the society that retains these punishments.
Flogging, we are told, does not deter the bully from acts of physical violence. Does the fear of death deter the mur- derer? Actutly, of course. we cannot tell, not being in the confidence of potential garotters and murderers. But since death by violence is physical injury carried to its extremes* limit, why should it be right to kill a murderer and nor right to-flog a bully? The argument that prison reform seek., the reformation of the criminal makes the criticism more devastating still—even, in a way, comical. You may be able to reform a criminal, even after flogging him ; you certainly cannot reform a criminal after hanging him.—Yours, &c.,
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