Exactly.  Most of the people on this thread seem to be confusing justice with revenge.  With feelings of revenge, justice can never be fairly administered.

What people need to think about is why criminals are doing what they are doing in the first place - they aren't born like that.  Solve those issues and you wouldn't have any crime.

It's no coincidence that Holland, which has one of the "softest" and most forward looking criminal justice systems has one of the lowest re-offending rates.  As one of the most forward looking soceities (in Europe certainly) it's also no surprise they have one of the lowest crime rates.

And for all of you think that the death penalty would solve anything, in all the US states which have re-introduced it since 1976 the murder rate has either remained the same or increased.  There's absolutely no evidence it has any effect other than to satisfy the disgusting blood lust of people who have forgotten the meaning of justice.

The more brutal and dehumanising methods used to deal with criminals the more brutal and inhuman our soceity will become.  Those changes are unfortunately already all too evident in the UK and the US.

Michael.