Speaking on the severity of punishment as a supposed...

Speaking on the severity of punishment as a supposed deterrence to crime, Auxiliary Bishop of Mt Hagen Bishop Douglas Young said it was the certainty of punishment that deterred crime-the knowledge that the criminal, high or low, rich or poor, powerful or weak, will actually be caught, go to court and be found guilty and punished by fine or imprisonment before the eyes of everyone.
Expressing his views on the death penalty and whether it was an appropriate for of punishment, Bishop Young said when society beat or killed its offenders, that society itself was brutalised.
"The State is sending a clear message to people. If someone is bothering you, violate them, even kill them.
"That's what we do. This message is even worse when it is addressed to the relatively wealthy as a promise of protection against the frustrated aspirations of the poor and marginalised," he said.