Peckham man guilty of murdering French students

[EdieF]

Sky News story

[Brendan]

LB. It's a question of removing an individual from society. You either lock them up for the rest of their lives, which could be a very long time and is inhumane in itself or you kill them, which is a little messy and upsets people.

Either way the question is academic because I feel that considering legal systems and the general state of humanity's morality it isn't workable. I just think it could be, theoretically.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

This is the view today from another Forum on Capital Punishment:

Yesterday, 09:30 PM Originally Posted by XXXXXX

Last week, the Saudi Arabians beheaded a guy who had abducted a young boy and sodomized him, then killed the boy's father when the man came to rescue his child.

Those Saudis beheaded that fool in public, sewed his head back on and crucified him on a tree, and let him hang there as a deterrent to any aspiring criminal.

Yo, you mess with a child, you pay.

Applause for the Saudi folks.

and the response from a Moderator....

For real, not that I care anything about Saudi Arabia, but I like the way some of these other countries deal with these wastes of oxygen. Some people (if you can even call them that) should simply be disposed of. End of story.

Subtle difference from the view expressed by some on EDFB)

[JetSetWilly]

you would think having the head chopped off would be a deterrent in itself, but to have to reattach the bonce and then crucify and leave the body hanging, if thats the real deterrent, does it then suggest that the death penalty in itself is no longer an effective deterrent and that maybe the saudi,s and other states around the world who use capital punishment, would be better employed in looking for an alternative ie, life imprisonment to mean life imprisonment with no chance of parole. capital punishment may make some think twice about committing a crime worthy of the ultimate reward, but in all honesty it is not an effective deterrent, never has been , never will be.

[louisiana]

Because nobody ever imagines they will get caught. They do not plan for getting caught.

[bigbadwolf]

The Taliban had quite an imaginative method of execution. Attach chains to the condemned prisoners wrists and ankles, hook them up to two tanks and then proceed to pull them apart, literally.

In Russia you just disappear.

[Sherwick]

Here's a statement from one of the murdered boy's father, Guy Bonomo:

Laurent was born on 9th October 1984 and you took the decision to end his life on 29th June 2008.

You were not satisfied with breaking in and stealing his computer a week before you killed him. After the burglary, Laurent was terrified. He cried on the phone to me and I tried to comfort and reassure him. It was then that I realised that although a young man, he was still my little boy.

I explained to Laurent that he'd grown up in a sheltered student environment and was na?ve about the outside world. He was easy prey to people like you. I told him to be vigilant at all times. He needed to grow up quickly if he was going to marry and have children with his fianc?e Marie.

We have sat in court for the last six weeks, hoping for answers, trying to find out what happened to our children. But you have lied in court and have refused to tell the truth. This is what we have been waiting for. Without knowing what happened that night and why, we cannot move on and find peace. I ask you again, Why?

You know the atrocities that you have committed. Your attitude and apparent lack of remorse shows us that you have no conscience at all. Tell me why you have done this? I need to have answers.

Guy Bonomo, Laurent's father (to his son's killers)

For the last eleven months, I have been forced to speak about Laurent in the past tense, when all I could see for him was a bright future.

Laurent was a fantastic boy. From the day he was born, he brought happiness to friends and family. He was kind and loved life. You took him away from those that loved him deeply. Do you know the meaning of love?

Laurent adored his parents and not only are we suffering, but also his ten year old sister, Ambre. Laurent was her big brother and her hero. He was the one who looked out for her and protected her. She was so proud when she talked about him to her friends and it is unbearable to watch her suffering and struggling to cope with her loss.

Laurent came from a large family. He had ten cousins and he was the eldest and the one that everyone looked up to. Every Christmas, we would gather together as a family, only last Christmas, he was not there. Their leader and hero was gone.

Before Laurent came to London, he and Marie took part in a civil ceremony to cement their relationship. They were planning their future together. Her life has now stopped.

Laurent had many incredible friends who loved him dearly. Not only have you taken Laurent's life ,you've taken my heart and soul. I need to try to learn to live without my son, to try and live a normal existence and try to forget the torture you inflicted upon him, but I am tormented by images of his suffering.

Laurent's little sister is aware that I am here in London for the trial and she has asked me if the bad people who did this to her big brother will be punished. Her mother and I have told her that they will go to prison for a long time and will not be able to hurt anyone else, she replied with a big smile. For her you represent evil.

I wish from the bottom of my heart that you will stay in prison for the rest of your lives. I can't bear to think that someone so evil will walk the streets again, that my daughter or a member of my family could encounter you again.

I appeal to you as Laurent's father to have a conscience. To end our misery and suffering by one day telling the truth about our son's final hours.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

"You know the atrocities that you have committed. Your attitude and apparent lack of remorse shows us that you have no conscience at all."........

This case is so sad. A wonderful child from a very loving Family has been taken from them in the most dispicable of circumstances and then the Family have to encounter the above which just prolongs and accentuates their agony.

What does it say about our Society that we have produced people who are capable of committing such atrocities and yet don't even care...

[Sherwick]

Didn't someone once say something along the lines of "there is no society"?

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Sherwick Wrote:

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> Didn't someone once say something along the lines

> of "there is no society"?

A Former resident of Dulwich, by any chance?

p.s. I've been reading about Saudi Beheadings.

Apparently the role of a Public Executioner is passed through the Generations from Father to Son. These Guys take great pride in performing their Duty and need a fairly constant supply of victims to ensure they do not lose their touch.

When Mary Queen Of Scots was beheaded in The Tower Of London the appointed Executioner needed 3 attempts to finally do the job as he was out of practice....::o

These Saudi Guys are Professionals and even get their children to clean their Sword and keep it razor sharp.

[Santerme]

Execution is legalised murder and it is not justice but revenege.

I can fully sympathise with the emotion desire to kill an object of hatred.

When you have disinterred families from mass or shallow graves and the occupants range from 9 months to 90 years, there is a point where someone saying the wrong word can trigger a pretty decisive response.

When the men have been bound with razor wire and the women obviously abused prior to their death, it adds to the feeling.

Especially, if they are less than 50 metres away smirking at your inability (not unwillingness) to react.

It is a different subject from this case but, I think we need to distinguish between an emotional need to seek vengeance as opposed to justice.

[Izodia]

The quote from one of the fathers on the front of this mornings Metro brought a tear to my eye. It's a horrific case.

But I'm against capital punishment. As said before, you can't kill someone to prove that killing is wrong and there's always a chance of executing someone innocent. In addition, the attitude of murderers has been reported as so inhumane that I don't believe the threat of execution would have deterred them in the slightest.

[blah]

lets be honest here, this murderer had serious mental health problems, exaggerated by drug use etc. though the drug use is likely to be self medication for the mental health problems.

this isnt common or run or the mill - its exceptional that it went this far and that he was not in the "system" to get assistance from an early age.Jail will keep him away form the greater mass of society, but it isnt a cure or treatment ( though there will be moves in this direction I am sure ).

What is sad is that 2 people were butchered by someone who had problems that were never really attended to. This could mayube have been avoided. This is no help to the families of the dead course

[Jeremy]

I was thinking the same thing... mental illness and/or drugs.

Although I would stop short of the above sympathetic angle, it is becoming clear that this could and should have been avoided.

[Brendan]

Some people are just evil bastards to be honest. Whether they're accidents of genetics or victims of circumstance there is still no place for them in society.

[louisiana]

This entire family (this guy, brother, father, sister) seem to have serious, long-standing problems. I'm amazed that they have not been dealt with 'in the round'. Especially when you consider some of the 'cases' that do come before the authorities.

[daizie]

why keep them alive . I cant see one valid reason . They should be killed . In extreme cases, killers should be killed .

[DulwichChav]

Send them to the Hellman Province as cannon fodder.

[bigbadwolf]

Daizie.

In today's culture of letting some of the most despicable pre-meditating criminals out for good behaviour I can see where you're coming from with regards to the rope.

Earlier on I mentioned the American style of Supermax prisons. I want you to think very very carefully before you reply.

If a close friend of yours or a relative was murdered what would you prefer. The assailant to be handed the death penalty or that they will have to spend the rest of their life for 23 hours a day in a soundproofed room with only a tiny slit for a window and no television with controlled neon lighting. On family visits they would be shackled and only be able to shuffle about. After several years if months of solitary confinement they will start to hallucinate followed by talking to voices in their head. Eventually they will literally begin to rot from the inside and be safe in the knowledge that they will never see the outside of that prison again.

This is the harsh reality of a Supermax facility. I don't know about you guys but I find the concept terrifying and if the court had this option available to them a lot (I know not all) criminals would seriously think twice.

[ClareC]

Its all very well to think they spend their lives in jail feeling remorseful but in reality that rarely happens!

remorse is rare and jail is a far too easy ride.

This category of vilent criminal should be removed from society permanently, whether that is life meaning life (and not including any priviledges as seems the norm) or capital punishment I don't care, the goal is to remove them from society permanently, not revenge.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

My friend has just told me that she had her home on the Surrey/Hants Borders trashed. Nothing was taken but it was wrecked by a 16-year-old who lives in the next road, apparently. He used a baseball bat to let rip.

He has just received a "Reprimand"..thats it.

Bet that makes him think twice, in future, eh?

[daizie]

I know what you're saying bigbadboy, however, scum dont care . It would be futile .

[blah]

If we had to make a flag for Ed , it would be a union jack with a hangmans noose superimposed over an electric chair

Welcome to SE londons first Daily mail theme park

[bigbadwolf]

I don't know where you heard that Sonnex was from Peckham. He's from New cross in Lewisham. Farmer was of no fixed address.

[louisiana]

DulwichChav Wrote:

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> Send them to the Hellman Province as cannon

> fodder.

Would that be the Helmand Province, as in the Pashtun-speaking area of SW Afghanistan?

Or the Hellman Province, as in the Unilever mayonnaise that can be quite nicely combined with olive oil, horseradish sauce and other salad condiments?