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Problems of hanging

BILL Williams bemoans the fact that convicted double murderer Halliwell couldn’t be hanged.

He forgets the fact that if we killed murderers Halliwell would have been hanged after his first trial and would not have been convicted of Becky Godden’s murder.

Her poor family would then not have the closure they needed and the satisfaction of seeing him convicted.

Indeed, as he could not have been tried, he would have been presumed innocent in the eyes of the law.

In the 19th century hanging people for theft was abandoned, not because, as Bill calls them, the powers that be thought that death was an inappropriate punishment for theft but because of the difficulty of getting a conviction. Juries balked at sending someone to the gallows for theft.

The same would happen now in murder trials. Enough people would be horrified at the thought of someone they convicted being killed 28 days later that it would be almost impossible to get a conviction.

Bill wants a referendum on capital punishment. We have just had one on whether or not to leave EU.

He says European Disunion, I can’t believe he is so disrespectful as to make a joke in the middle of a letter that is about such a sombre and sensitive topic.

That referendum has caused so many difficulties to arise that the Prime Minister has appointed three leading Brexiteers to sort it outand, four months later, no Brexit is in sight.

A referendum on the return of capital punishment would cause just as many problems.

What crimes would be capital crimes? Bill wants rapists and child molesters included, would we need two grades of murder as they do in America?

Would majority verdicts be allowed? Would judges have discretion in sentencing? Would polling the jury be allowed to make sure they were not opposed to executions?

I am sure there are many more questions that I haven’t listed.

STEVE THOMPSON

Norman Road, Swindon

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Economies of scale

THE consultation period is now coming to an end regarding the new parish councils in Swindon.

It seems that there is no choice but to introduce these parish councils, because it is the only way we can raise enough money to cover the public services in Swindon.

The cost of the new parish councils could be about £112 per household for previously unparished areas, with a smaller increase for those areas that are presently already parished.

The option that I prefer is the one proposed by the Labour Party and that is to have all the unparished areas grouped together into one large parish council.

This brings in economies of scale, so there is more certainty that a large central parish council would prove to be economically viable.

There are 25 elected Labour councillors in Swindon and that is the proposal that they are recommending.

My area is Central Swindon South and it includes that main shopping area in the town centre. The problem is that businesses do not pay the parish precept. The estimated cost of maintaining this shopping area is half a million pounds a year.

Central Swindon South is not an affluent area. The vast additional cost of cleaning the town centre means that the parish of Central Swindon South could never be economically viable.

STEVE HALDEN

Beaufort Green, Swindon

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Brexit signs not good

AS A supporter of Remain I was disappointed by the Brexit vote.

Still, I consoled myself that at least we wouldn’t have to read Bill Williams’ European ‘Disunion joke’ any more.

Then, bless my soul, it cropped up again, (Don’t Remainers get it? SA September 28).

I think Bill is mistaken when he says George Osbourne fell on his sword.

He was sacked by Teresa May and hasn’t gone quietly, but remains to promote his ‘Northern Powerhouse’ agenda.

In that we must wish him well because, despite Bill’s view that the British public made the right decision, the early signs are not good.

Apparently the City of London is haemorrhaging high quality jobs to Europe and elsewhere while the only real growth in labour opportunities seems to be for supermarket shelf stackers and burger flippers.

DON REEVE

Horder Mews, Old Town, Swindon

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Positive experience

I FELT the need to write and tell you of a positive experience with our local NHS.

Following a call from my daughter’s nursery, I called my local surgery, Hermitage Old Town, and spoke to a very helpful receptionist who gave me a number for Moredon’s Children’s surgery, which I called.

A very helpful nurse called me back within 10 minutes and I was able to make an appointment with her at Carfax St Clinic.

Within the hour my daughter had been seen and diagnosed and treatments advised. Every step of this stressful journey was made better by every member of the NHS team I was in contact with.

As a first-time mum I felt reassured and better informed of the best way to care for my daughter. The NHS should be praised for employing such caring and helpful staff in Swindon and this experience highlighted the real need to keep this service funded.

CLAIRE

Old Town, Swindon

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Limited attractions

RE ‘ARTS chief given tour of town’s top cultural spots.’ (Adver, September 30).

Darren Henley, the Head of the Arts Council England, was given a whistle-stop tour of Swindon’s cultural hubs.

I can see why it was a whistle-stop tour. The Wyvern Theatre, the Arts Centre and the Central Library – three places, with the last on shaky legs (not forgetting the somnolent museum).

What next, an application to make Swindon a city, with its ‘cultural top spots’ being the main attraction?

J ADAMS

Bloomsbury, Swindon