[Paul_Sengupta]

AIUI, having seen only news reports, the individual who has been discussed in the media recently was twice convicted of manslaughter,

Indeed, this is another anomaly I can see with justice in this country.

If you are a homicidal psychopath, it's classed (rightly) as a mental illness. But this then means that you get a sentence for manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and get let out after two years. This doesn't seem right.

It's obviously difficult to lock up a homicidal psychopath before they commit a crime (they have done in the past though!) but they can and should be detained until they are not a threat to anyone. After one murder/manslaughter would be a good time to assess.

[johnm]

If someone is spotted and considered a possible homicidal psychopath, the y can be sectioned under the mental health act and detained for more detailed diagnosis. Tricky old problem until they kill someone sadly

[defcribed]

I was surprised to hear (admittedly mostly from partisan Internet sources) that - in the US at least - it costs more to enact a death sentence than it does to simply lock the person up for life. This is due to the number and length of appeals, level of oversight required etc.

Well that's the way the Americans have set it up - yes it takes a long time to get to the point of actually executing someone and as you say probably costs an awful lot.

Back when we used to hang people in this country it was very different. The time between the passing of sentence and execution was measured in weeks if there was no appeal and months if there was one.

I understand the Americans can take decades.