Death penalty: Let the people decide 

While reading Eye For An Eye Man’s thoughtful and nuanced letter (October 24) supporting the death penalty, I knew it would provoke the bleeding hearts. And sure enough, Dr Frank, in all his bloodstained glory, lurches onto this page yet again.
First, a few facts. The paucity of data prevents the deterrent effect of the death penalty from being proven conclusively, so it should not be settled on moral or political grounds. We must ignore the biased “studies” conducted by the liberal left and look for impartial studies undertaken by those who know what they are talking about. Analysis by American economist Isaac Ehrlich, for example, suggests that for every executed convict, seven lives are saved. We should also note that humans are not an endangered species (7.6 billion and counting), and if we can stand back from our self-centred anthropocentricity for a moment, perhaps we could shed more tears over the death of a leatherback turtle caught in a fishing net rather than the execution of some murderer most foul.
But in a democratic world (and Dr Frank is always quick to claim his democratic moral high ground) should we not heed the voice of the people rather than the diktats of the supra-national liberal-fascist organisations such as Amnesty International, the EU and the UN? An opinion survey has found that 96 per cent of Thais support executions. Here are some more survey results in support: China – 60 per cent; Taiwan – 80 per cent, South Korea – 83 per cent, Japan – 85 per cent, Malaysia – a whopping 91 per cent.
“If criminals have committed horrific crimes and are of no use to society, just get rid of the bums!” Quite right, Mr Eye-Man, and the people say “Aye”.
Nigel Pike
Phang Nga