EVERY day we hear of some serious crime committed against another human being.

It appears that the perpetrators don’t have second thoughts and perhaps the UK has become too lenient, criminals knowing that, if caught and found guilty, they will not be imprisoned for long (if at all).

The heinous act of rape on a 90-year-old woman makes me think that the UK should bring back the stocks so the criminal could face the general public, and they could vent their anger at such horrible happenings.

No doubt Human Rights supporters would be up in arms about such treatment of a fellow human being, but they never protest about the victim who has already suffered at someone’s hands.

With much debate in progress at the moment about what subjects should be part of the school curriculum, not one suggestion of teaching wrong from right has been put forward.

Does anyone care what is right and what is wrong?

Until there is a punishment severe enough to match the crime, the UK will not deter criminals from breaking the law again.

As my grandmother used to say, spare the rod and spoil the child. I do not advocate parents using that to keep children on an even course but, in a loving family, the threat of such punishment always seems more than severe to youngsters who continually test parents’ patience. From my own experience of raising five children, nipping trouble in the bud worked for them and they are all decent adults now.

ADRIAN TAYLOR, Duncan Close, Eynsham

  • Today’s letters


Want to give your opinion? Email letters@oxfordmail.co.uk