DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 140, 25 March 1948, Page 2

DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER

Request by Justices of Peace LIFE SENTENCES CRITICISED (P.A.) DUNEDIN, March 21. Should its move to have the death penalty reinstated for the crime of murder fail, the Federation of New Zealand Justices’ Associations will ask for legislation to empower Supreme Court judges to sentence a murderer to imprisonment “for as long as he shall live.” This was decided at the annual conference of the federation in Dunedin to-day.

Mr H. W. Shortt (Wellington) said the law as it stood was an inducement to murder. A murderer knew he might lose his liberty, but he also knew that his own life was not endangered. The maximum punishment for murder was imprisonment for a convicted man’s natural life, but the term expired after 21 years. After five years the sentence could be reconsidered by the Prisons Boa’.'d. There was a case in Auckland at present in which a convicted- murderer was to be released after serving 14 years of his life sentence.

“Suffered from Disease”

By pressing for the death penalty the country would be going back into the dark ages, said Mrs E. Molsworth (Auckland). Convicted persons were cases for psychiatrists, since they were suffering from a disease. Murderers, who were often prompted to their crime by physical passion, were adequately dealt with by specialist treatment in the course of their sentence. The forfeiting of a murderer’s life was the only satisfactory penalty, said Mrs G. B. Batt (Wanganui). Quoting from a report by her association, she said the risk taken by murderers at present was apparently worthwhile for the accomplishment of their act. After a spirited debate the federation passed by 15 vote* to seven a resolution calling for the reinstatement of corporal punishment. After the voting was taken on a show of hands, Mr B. C. Robbins (Bay of Plenty),, who had opposed the motion, commented; “There are still some humanitarians present.” He agreed to withdraw the remark after Mrs Batt had risen to a point of order that delegates were voting in accordance with the wishes of their associations.