Sir: A year or two ago The Spectator printed a
letter of mine and captioned it 'Easier murder'. Since then, murder seems to have become easier indeed. In my letter I opined that the abolition of capital punishment might eventually act as a deterrent to any respect for human life particularly in the field, so to speak, of clandestine and vindictive feud and vendetta. My opinion then ' seems to be right now.
It is really to guard against terrorist mass (or even one person) murder that capital punishment is justified. Or if a murderee can be shown to have 'asked for it' in some very provocative way then perhaps the murderer can be somewhat spared. But in the case of such murder as was committed in Birmingham recently society cannot disgrace itself by not sparing the lives of him, her or those who did the murder if and when he, she or they are caught. Society, in fact, would disgrace itself by not administering capital punishment. It not only has the right to administer this, it has the duty. Christians there are who might deny this. They could be reminded that ruthless self-treatment is commanded them by Christ for anything that is corrupting or offensive within or about themselves. Again, if this country was invaded by the armed forces of a foreign power we could not very well refuse to shoot lethally back at them in their own lethal onslaught on the grounds that we do not have capital punishment on our books. But the IRA are an invading, armed, hostile, lethalintending, society-destroying, cruel foreign power in themselves regardless of nationality, and foreign in fact to civilisation itself. Actually their initials should not be IRA at all. They are not Irish or republican or even 'army. They are only killers. And not killers only of the body. They are from the 'gates of hell' that the Catholic Church does not yet seem to be aware of: it is time it was, and spiritually acted accordingly: and be seen to do so. They are a burden to the Irish and an unbearable enemy to all. And for them and for all foul murderers the gallows must be rebuilt. A society which should spare them is not merciful but corrupt. An individual person may pray forgiveness on their souls, somehow: but the law must terminate their mortal existence to survive itself.
Thomas W. Gadd Wendover, 7 Broad Road, Sale, Cheshire
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