Premier backs death penalty campaign Western Australian Premier Richard Court has backed a campaign by a retired farmer to reintroduce the death penalty in the state. Mr Court said the government would consider holding a referendum if strong public support could be shown for capital punishment. A petition of 2,743 signatures, gathered by retired farmer Ruth Gould, was tabled in the state parliament last night. Mr Court said capital punishment was an appropriate penalty for people who had caused as much suffering to families as serial killers David and Catharine Birnie in the mid-1980s. But he said the government would not reintroduce the death penalty in WA without extensive community consultation, the West Australian newspaper reported. The last person to hang in WA was the notorious Eric Edgar Cooke, who was convicted of six brutal murders in the 1960s and was hanged in 1964. http://www.smh.com.au/breaking/0003/16/A12884-2000Mar16.shtml WA government rules out death penalty poll Source: AAP | Published: Thursday March 16, 2:22 PM West Australian Premier Richard Court said today his government was not planning a referendum on the reintroduction of capital punishment. 'The issue was considered before the last state election and it was decided not to proceed because it was a divisive issue both within the (Liberal) party and within the community,' Mr Court said through a spokeswoman. 'We're not planning to have a referendum to coincide with the next election.' The premier's comments follow the tabling yesterday in state parliament of a petition gathered by a retired farmer calling for a referendum on the reintroduction of the death penalty. Ruth Gould's petition was tabled by government backbencher Kevin Minson. He said today Mr Court had written to Ms Gould saying the issue was very divisive but that he would support a referendum if sufficient public support for one could be demonstrated. Ms Gould, from Greenough near Geraldton in the mid-west region of Western Australia, could not be contacted immediately for comment on her plans for augmenting her current petition, which contains 2,743 signatures. But Mr Minson said Ms Gould started the petition after five murders in Greenough: that of a young woman several months ago and the murders of a woman and her three children in 1993. Mr Court was unavailable for comment today because he was travelling to Canberra for a meeting of state treasurers tomorrow. He told the West Australian newspaper capital punishment was an appropriate penalty for people who had caused as much suffering to families as serial killers David and Catherine Birnie, who tortured and murdered a number of young women in the mid-1980s. The premier told the newspaper the government would not reintroduce the death penalty in WA without extensive community consultation. The last person to hang in WA was the notorious Eric Edgar Cooke, convicted of a series of brutal murders in the early 1960s. He went to the gallows in October 1964. Perth man John Button, recently granted leave to appeal his 1963 manslaughter conviction after new evidence indicated he could not have committed the crime, said today he supported the idea of capital punishment but not under the present, flawed justice system. Mr Button said he had been proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the manslaughter of his 17-year-old girlfriend and suggested jurors were vulnerable to making incorrect decisions. He said the jury system had to be changed to force jurors to state on what grounds they had arrived at a verdict so a judge could determine whether in fact a verdict was safe. 'I believe we have the right to use the death penalty but, having said that, the system we have in place must be changed dramatically,' Mr Button said. 'The jury system at the moment would not allow it. A person could be put to death because jurors wanted to get home for tea or the (football) grand final, or it could be that they just don't like you or something you said.' In Canberra, federal opposition Leader Kim Beazley said if Mr Court was to support the reintroduction of capital punishment it would be out of was political desperation. Mr Beazley said: 'The moment a West Australian Tory faces a political death sentence, he wants to impose it on everyone else,' Mr Beazley told journalists. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
