88 Years Old WW2 Murderer: Still Worth Prosecuting?

[Kerosene]

65 years later, does he still deserve to be brought to justice? What possible evidence can remain?
Is it in the public interest to prosecute this geriatric?

Or is this just a PR exercise gone mad?

http://news.bbc.co.uk...ld/europe/8402574.stm

[Sqad]

Quinlad....I take your point BUT, if you were in the position in which you had the choice of shooting the children or being shot yourself................................which would you take?

[LoftyLottie]

I don't think any of us around now have any idea of what sort of position people were in during this time in history. Survival for ourselves and our families would be paramount. We are lucky that we have never been in this position or had to make such dreadful decisions. The man knows what he has done wrong, he has probably suffered all his life as a result.

[LoftyLottie]

I doubt it Vibra. I can't say it will give any comfort to the families or ease anything for him. Not 65 years on. There must be many more people in the same situation - they will carry this on their shoulders until they die.

[jackthehat]

"If you can run for long enough, hard enough and far enough you can take yourself beyond the reach of natural justice."
Is that a message that we wish to be a legacy of the atrocity that was WW2 ?

[Sqad]

Lofty....I agree completely.

Zeuhl.....At the time of making the decision, the kids or me, I would not be thinking of future complications.

[LoftyLottie]

Good point Zeuhl. (your para 3)

[brionon]

I agree with Squad, If you don't get caught IMMEDIATELY you should get away with it: Let Baby P's Murderers go !

[LoftyLottie]

brionon. That was not Sqad's point and you know it. There is a world of difference between war time action and peace time happenings. What an absolutely stupid posting in an otherwise intelligent thread.

[Sqad]

Zeuhl...........I understand where you are coming from............the knives are out for the guy, so presumably he hopes that he will walk free, but the "pound of flesh" demanded by the baying mobs will have to be paid.

Result.......the legal boys will make a packet, he will serve whatever sentence is dished out and for the designated period and life will go on.

Everyone will be happy that this octogenarian has been dealt with, the law will be satisfied, but has justice been done?

[brionon]

LoftyLottie self praise indeed ! You intelligent thing,you.

[LoftyLottie]

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit Brionon. There was no self praise from me. This was a serious thread and then you throw in a stupid comment which is not relevant. There is no comparison between Baby P and war crime.

[123everton]

There is a world of difference between dropping a bomb from several thousand feet and picking up a rifle and taking aim. As an historical point of reference Goerring cited the same outcome in questioning.
The reality is that civilians died as a consequence of the bombing not by design, the idea was to dehouse the workers, and before anyone cites Churchill's shameful (and cowardly) later distancing of himself from Harris and bomber command read his speech called "Growing Confidence."
The man should stand trial, he should serve his sentence, his victims are still dead.
I sincerely doubt the following orders defence, many of the atrocities were committed by the Wehrmacht (and other organisations) cheerfully.

[123everton]

A soldier is bound by oath to do their duty, the contention is where does that duty end and conscience begin?
There is a logic towards shooting 'cowards', I'm not defending it, when faced with the fear of an imminent death, the notion of a certain one is sure to gird one's loin.
It is only when you read into the atrocities of this era that you begin to understand it's vicious cruelty, men dancing in front of the soon to be killed previous owner of a coat, guards stealing the belongings of the dead, profiteers swapping a loaf for diamond, even when you look at places like France you see the nature of what happened.
France was loathe to 'evacuate' it's French Jews, but was willing to give up it's foreign Jews, so, the gendarmes rounded up the French Jews and sent them to transit camps in France (run by them) to be processed and sent to the east.
In camps like Drancy the children were separated from their parents, they bore the scratches as they were dragged from their parent's arms, the gendarmes even rounded up 40 prisoners to be held hostage and executed in retaliation in 1941.
If memory serves only 1 French civilian has been tried for a war crime, anyone guilty of such crimes should not be allowed to live out their days with even the thinnest veil of respectabity.

[mosesg]

I he any different from Ronnie Biggs who was an old sick man when he came back here. Of Course they should be tried and serve time for their crimes. If someone murdered one of your family you would want justice.