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Give this man a medal - not a prison sentence

The Evening Standard reports on a shopkeeper facing a murder charge after he turned his knife on a career criminal during a carjacking.

Frankly Tony Singh deserves a medal for gallantry, not a prison sentence. Someone attacked him with a knife and he managed to turn that potential murder weapon on his assailant.

The fact that the law seems more concerned about the rights of criminals than the rights of victims should be of grave concern to us all. The killing of Liam Kilroe, the career criminal in question, could have been avoided if this piece of low-life had chosen to obey rather than to break the law. He came at Singh with a knife, don't forget.

While it would clearly have been preferable if Singh had not killed Kilroe, I for one won't weep for Kilroe's death. And I dare say most people will take the view as regards Singh of "good on him". I expect most of us would have done the same in that situation.

Hat Tip: Amanda Huggankis.

Fancy A Fry-Up? The Return of the Death Penalty is Overdue

Helen Newlove, the widow of Garry Newlove who was kicked to death by three feral youths, says that she "wouldn't hesitate" if given the chance to deliver a lethal injection or press the button on an electric chair so as to rid the world of Stephen Paul Sorton, Jordan Cunliffe and Adam Swellings. Mrs Newlove rightly observed that "if the liberals running our justice system ever let these three out, they will kill again. They are ticking timebombs".

There are groups such as the Howard League for Penal Reform who seem to delight in making excuses for the likes of Sorton, Cunliffe and Swellings. It's always someone else's fault and jail is never, ever the answer.

I agree that jail isn't the answer for these three animals. They have shown no remorse whatsoever and rehabilitation is not what is needed. The answer is for them to be executed. Once we had politicians who would listen to the wishes of the people, the majority of whom still favour a return of capital punishment. Will we ever seen the return of the gallows to Britain?

Life should mean life

Last night I debated the question of whether life should mean life on BBC Radio 5 Live. The father of a murder victim from Sunderland is trying to get 100,000 signatures together to present to Gordon Brown in the hope that the three cowards who murdered his son will actually service full-term life sentences, instead of being let out early.

I debated against Malcolm Fowler, a former chairman of the Law Society's Criminal Practitioners Committee and a 40-year veteran of criminal practice. I have to say I felt that he brought a new meaning to the word "pompous" - not only towards me but also in his hollow words of sorrow expressed to the victims' families.

His main starting point in rebutting my arguments was that I am in a minority in the Law Society for taking the view life should mean life. Quite how he knows this is beyond me given that I have never been asked my views, as a solicitor, as to whether life should mean life - the turnout in Law Society elections makes local government election turnouts look like resounding mandates. If anyone is in a minority it is actually Mr Fowler and the coterie of taxpayer-subsidized do-gooders who would only ever seem happy if our jails were empty: polls consistently show my view is the majority view.

The problem with the legal profession is that too many people are Lord Longford wannabes. They seem more interested in the rights of criminals than in the rights of victims and their families. If they took their heads out of their books and left the comfort of their secluded ivory towers, they might begin to realise that their smug attitudes only add insult to injury - or as I said last night, insult to murder.

I wonder if the likes of Malcolm Fowler would like to put their money where their mouths are. Would he be willing to have Ian Huntley babysit his kids, for example? Or if he is worried about the cost of keeping prisoners in jail for life, why not give more of his partnership drawings to the Treasury?

You can listen to our debate at 11.15pm (some 75 minutes into this clip) here.

On capital punishment

New Jersey has voted to scrap the death penalty - the first US state to ban executions in four decades. The decision will reprieve eight murderers on Death Row, including paedophile Jesse Timmendequas. He murdered Megan Kanka, the seven year-old girl whose death led to "Megan's Law".

Since the reintroduction of the death penalty over 30 years ago, the US has executed 1,099 people - including 53 last year.

Unfortunately there are no signs of the death penalty being reintroduced in Britain. It is expressly prohibited under EU law and the leaderships of the main parties are opposed to it (although David Davis is in favour).

I am a strong supporter of the death penalty - more of a traditional British noose man than a supporter of the American fry up or death by lethal injection. I am sure death by hanging will return to Britain one day, along with our stolen liberties and the sovereignty sold to Brussels.

But when - and how?

My Two Cents...on anarchy in the UK

The killing of Rhys Thomas has obviously shocked the nation, although why is beyond me. Gun and knife murders are on the increase nationwide. As usual the desire to emote publicly has overcome the populus – Everton will have a minute’s silence before kick-off tomorrow, the players may be wearing black arm-bands and hundreds of floral tributes scatter the site where Rhys was brutally gunned down.

Yet while this may make the participants in this public emoting feel good about themselves, and even morally superior to the rest of us, it does absolutely nothing to help catch the murderer or ensure similar such murders are prevented.

People are thrashing around for solutions, blaming society, blaming politicians, blaming single parents. So here is my analysis and my prescription for dealing with the anarchy in Britain today.

First, the sacred cow of childrens’ rights must be slain. Children are children. They are chattels until they reach adulthood. They should not have the same panoply of rights as adults.

Second, police need to be out on the streets preventing crime, not wasting time filling in forms or kow-towing to politically correct zealots who insist they attend diversity training. Local communities need local bobbies. And they need to be routinely armed.

Third, the police and CPS need to spend time investigating and prosecuting violent crime, not going after that kid who threw a cocktail sausage at a passer-by or those girls who flashed at a CCTV camera.

Fourth, politicians must realize that they cannot legislate morality. Yes we all wish society was comprised of married adults who provide safe, loving homes for their kids but life isn’t like that. Often both parents need to work to make ends meet. Many kids brought up in single parent households turn out as better members of society than those brought up in supposedly more stable married households, more often than not because the parents fight and undermine each other. So stop obsessing about marriage being the solution to society’s problems.

Fifth, kids need to be made to serve community sentences that make them realize the error of their ways. ASBOs and ABCs are ineffective and have become badges of honour. Making an errant child pick up litter, clean public toilets, wipe away graffiti, weed gardens and other similar such community punishments should be a first step. Boot camps should also be reintroduced.

Sixth, if kids continue to offend then yes prison should be used. Prisons works. Repeat offenders need to know prison will appear nearer on the horizon than is the case now. Oiks with long charge sheets yet to serve time should be a thing of the past.

Seventh, if someone is sentenced to six years, they should serve six years. They should not get time off for good behaviour. Their sentences should be increased if they misbehave.

Eighth, parents need to support teachers and the police when they enforce school rules or the law instead of looking at ways of undermining their authority or trying to sue for compensation. Parents who make excuses for their kids should learn the hard way that society is not on their side but on the side of the majority of well-behaved kids and families.

Ninth, zero tolerance needs to be pursued but pursued sensibly. Minor offences should be clamped down upon but not with the same heavy hand that should be reserved for more serious and violent offences.

Tenth, the vermin that give guns or drugs to young kids should be hunted down, prosecuted and jailed for life. No exceptions. If a gun supplied by one of these evil gangsters is found to have been used in a crime, they should pay with their lives.

Tinkering with the law is not good enough. It’s time to be tough before we lose a whole generation to a life of decadence, self-indulgence, drugs, immorality and crime.