What good is done by putting the boy to death?
I answer ‘none’
No good is done to him or you or me
But he must pay we say
And yes he will pay
With years of life in prison for his crime
Some people need to stay there all the time
But others need the promise of release
A goal to work towards
A mind at peace
A prison that only punishes
Fails to understand
Our lives needs restoration
We journey hand in hand
The horror of the crime
Stirs us up
We feel the need to punish
Punish hard
And we leave folk then to rot
Our feelings then subside
And innocents die in prison
All forgot
Lock them up and throw away the key
A cruel emotion
There are better ways to be
To show a person truly how to live
To punish yes
But rescue from a grave
Brian Fahy
13 October 2022
+ After watching the court proceedings in Florida for the mass killing at Parkland school, and watching the story of the fire that killed the Doyle family in Glasgow in 1984, and remembering the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six who were condemned by popular opinion after pub bombings in England.
Erris Poetry 