QUOTE
1:
“The death penalty should be reinstated for people who
kill police following the murder of Pc Sharon Beshenivsky, the former
Met Police chief has said. Lord Stevens said the "cold-blooded"
murder of Pc Beshenivsky had "finally" changed his mind on the death
penalty. [Sunday 20 November 2005]
QUOTE
2:
"Such
an extreme act of pure evil can only be met by the most extreme of responses -
and that can only be death."
QUOTE
3:
PC
Beshenivsky was fatally shot outside a travel agents in Bradford. "All my life I've been against the death penalty," Lord
Stevens said. "I genuinely never thought I'd say
this, but I am now convinced that the monster who executed this young woman in
cold blood should, in turn, be killed as punishment for his crime. For the
first time in my life, despite 40 years at the sharp end of policing, I finally
see no alternative."
QUOTE
4:
If
the death penalty was not imposed then wrong really has finally totally
triumphed over right and all civilized society, all we hold dear, is the loser.
QUOTE
5:
He said, "There must be "massive safeguards" to make
sure there were no miscarriages of justice in imposing the death penalty. But
those who can incontrovertibly be proved to have murdered a police officer
should be killed."
QUOTE
6:
Murdering
someone who you knew to be a police officer was different from all other
murders.
"You are not just
killing an individual, you are attacking everything they represent," he added.
"I know now that
capital punishment is the only major way left for the majority of
right-thinking people to fight against the minority of monsters in our midst.”
AUTHOR: John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington KStJ QPM DL FRSA (born 21
October 1942) was Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (head of the
Metropolitan Police Service) from 2000 until 2005. From 1991 to 1996, he was
Chief Constable of Northumbria Police before being appointed one of HM
Inspectors of Constabulary in September 1996. He was then appointed Deputy
Commissioner of the Met in 1998 until his promotion to Commissioner in 2000.