Jordyboy - //any one agree with me that this is a definate case for bringing back the birch in some form? //
I don't.
It would provide an antidote to a completely understandable desire for revenge - agony for agony.
But it would not address the issue of why this happened, or prevent it from happening again.
Inadequate people on drugs do appalling things - but for the state, which by definition knows better, to respond with violence solves nothing except revenge, and the (dubious) notion of discouragement.
Hopefully we are more civilised now, and can approach this from a perspective of root causes and future prevention, rather than simple brutality - which hardly provides a sound behavioural example.