I was wondering whether to start this thread myself earlier to debate exactly those issues and paradoxes which Fionn raised. It has not been one of Mudcat's better ones so far.
    For us Liberals/Lefties/Do Gooders or whatever we can be called, it has been a good test of conscience. Paul Hill is an unrepentant murderer. He is also what I would call a moral fascist. He gives himself the right to make other people's moral choices for them - and then to kill them if they make a different choice to his own. He can hardly expect sympathy from us - and indeed he doesn't have it. It is still quite wrong - and foolish - to execute him.
      Perhaps the most striking aspect of Paul Hill's case was that the likes of myself and other Lefties did so little to save him. It would have been a very good opportunity to demonstrate who is really concerned with saving human life and who really has a more optimistic view of human nature.
      As one who has occasionally been on the receiving end of chastening comments from Clinton Hammond, I would urge our anonymous guest to at least credit the man with a sense of irony!