Reform UK spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe has voiced her support for reintroducing the death penalty in the UK, following one of the longest miscarriages of justice in UK history.Speaking on GB News, the former Conservative minister said she was "very comfortable" with bringing back capital punishment.FULL STORY HERE.
00:00Of course, whenever there is a miscarriage of justice like this, that hardy perennial topic, should we bring back the death penalty, hits the news headlines again.
00:10And actually, I've just been discussing with my panel and some of them were saying they've been in favour of it.
00:15Something like this happens and they realise that we should not have the death penalty.
00:20What's your assessment?
00:21My view has always been that if you do restore the death penalty, and I'm in favour of that, if you do restore it, then you need to say that for the death penalty to be enacted, there must be direct evidence.
00:37Either clear and irrefutable DNA evidence or somebody being caught in the act or somebody like some of the terrorists having done it and then boast about it afterwards and don't deny it.
00:49Now, if that, if you have that, then you have a safe bar.
00:54What you have here, and DNA was in its infancy in 1986, it was the first year it was ever used that convicted Colin Pitchfork.
01:02It was in its infancy and it wasn't used in this case.
01:07And now it is DNA, of course, which has exonerated him.
01:11And what is more, all the evidence was circumstantial.
01:15A lot of people had seen him coming from a fire and the fire in question was concerned, the dead girl's clothes.
01:23It was circumstantial.
01:24He'd been seen in that area.
01:27There was nothing direct at all, except that he did confess and then withdrew the confession and then confessed again and then withdrew it.
01:35But that aside, there was no direct evidence.
01:39So I'm very comfortable with having the death penalty back.
01:41It would have been very difficult, though, Anne, under these circumstances, to tell the parents of Diane Sindal,
01:48you're the killer of your beautiful 21-year-old daughter.
01:52We're not going to end his life because the weight of evidence isn't quite right.
01:57It's a very slippery slope, isn't it?
01:59No, I mean, the parameters are very clear.
02:02When we did have the death penalty, not every murderer was executed.
02:06There were very clear lines drawn what constituted capital murder and what constituted other murder.
02:12Very clear lines indeed.
02:14So, you know, no.
02:15I mean, obviously, it would be very difficult.
02:17Always is difficult telling the relatives.
02:19In this case, you know, I mean, heaven help us.
02:22A man has been in jail who isn't guilty.
02:25The man who is guilty may well still be wandering around.
02:28Absolutely. That's the next question, isn't it?
