[Archived] The Execution Of Gary Glitter

[accyrover]

Did anyone see the 'Mockumentary' 'The Execution of Gary Glitter' on Ch4 last night ? It was set in a fictional Britain where hanging had been reinstated for crimes such as murder and child abuse, and followed the trial, conviction and subsequent execution of Paul Gadd (aka Gary Glitter).

The guy who portrayed Glitter was superb, but I found the whole thing very disturbing, dispite beforehand strongly advocating Capital Punishment for certain crimes.

It's left me a little uneasy. Glitters character, whilst superbly portrayed, left me feeling absolute horror and terror at the thought of hanging a convicted criminal. But, as a parent, how would I feel if my son had been the victim ? Its a very deep, difficult topic to think about, and all respect to Ch4 for tackling the issue.

Accyrover

[Paul]

Yes I watched this as well and thought it a tremendous piece of TV, it is still available at Channel 4 On Demand. Just to be precise the scenario was set in a Britain which had re-introduced the death penalty for murder and rape of a child under 12, not for child abuse which I think most would agree covers a wider range of crimes. Secondly the UK has, or was said to have, laws which allow one to be prosecuted for offences committed outside of the UK. It's also necessary to know that having delivered a guilty verdict the jury was then required to deliberate between the death sentence or life imprisonment. I wasn't aware of this being a choice but apparently it is in some US states.

For me the programme raised questions. What would be the effect on justice for the defendant with the re-introduction of the death penalty? Our legal system is based on a fair trial. If I were selected for jury service in a case where the outcome could be the death penalty I'm not certain I could serve and, more importantly, doubt my ability to find someone guilty knowing he/she could die as a result. If the jury were made up of those opposed to the death penalty defendants who might be guilty could be found not guilty through a reluctance on the part of jurors to give a conviction leading to death. On the other hand if those opposed to the death penalty refused jury service juries might be heavily biased, even vengful, towards the death penalty perhaps ending with incorrect decisions? In either scenario the trial would not be fair either from the perspective of the law or the defendant.

The question left in the air was just how would supporters of the death penalty feel after the execution..............but then it's too late

[broadsword]

All the blood lust made me feel a bit queasy. Or maybe it was just the sight of Gary Bushell.

[Paul]

All the blood lust made me feel a bit queasy. Or maybe it was just the sight of Gary Bushell.

I've just googled him as I suspected he might be a real person. Is it this guy? Garry Bushell

[broadsword]

That's him.

A real creep. Mind you, he did used to work for Rupert, so no big surprises there.

[Guest andrewpickup]

odd how rightfully Glitter is a villain yet Michael Jackson was some sort of hero

[DazRover]

odd how rightfully Glitter is a villain yet Michael Jackson was some sort of hero

Jackson was never found guilty of child abuse.

[Billy Castell]

The big pay off the the 1st kid suggests something was going on though.............That kid with cancer a few years ago was probably just a horrible woman exploiting her son for financial gain.

The death penalty should never come back. It's a bit late to say sorry if you hang an innocent person.

[Tom]

I found the programme interesting but it should have been about a fictional person maybe, someone who had murdered would have made the situation more viable.

Off topic but I believe Jacko was innocent and just didn't want to go through the whole thing, each to their own though we'll never truely know.