Brave Lissie never gave up on justice
I HAVE such admiration for Lissie Harper, who has fought so hard to make sure justice is served over the tragic death of her police officer husband Andrew. Thanks to her campaign, killing a police officer or 999 worker will be punished with a mandatory life sentence. I hope this is another step closer to bringing back capital punishment for such crimes. Scientific advances mean a mistaken verdict is virtually impossible. We must not forget the never-ending suffering of a victim’s family and friends.
JOHN EVANS, Wokingham, Berks. I SIGNED the petition to get true justice for Andrew Harper, whose face shone with goodness while the thugs who took his life smirked in the dock. I am glad that brutes who take the life of a police officer or emergency worker will get a life sentence.
Miss S. HUNT, Portsmouth. HARPER’S Law — an automatic life sentence for the killers of emergency services personnel — is well overdue and should be commended. But I’m afraid it will only be as meaningful as the judiciary allows it to be. Lawyers will always look for the smallest details in an otherwise indisputable case to make excuses for a criminal’s behaviour.
MIKE CATTERALL, Accrington, Lancs. THE killing of PC Andrew Harper was a heinous crime. Life should mean life, not just a few years.
ANTHONY DERRICK, Clevedon, Somerset. THE trouble with making the killing of police and NHS staff a mandatory life sentence is that other manslaughter victims are seen as less important.
ROGER LANCASTER, Bristol. I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with the proposal that those who kill anyone in the emergency services should serve a whole life sentence with no parole. This should be extended to anyone who takes a life to deter people from carrying knives.
Mrs A. FOWLER, Stotfold, Beds. I HAVE every sympathy for Andrew Harper’s family and friends. However, one of the basic tenets of English law is that everyone, monarch or beggar, is treated the same. With the new law, will this no longer be the case?