26 replies to this topic

[willie campbell]

Hi,

I found the recent t.v. documentary on Bible John absolutely fascinating.
I remember that era in Glasgow when everyone was talking about who the perpetrator(s) of those murders could be,and of course everyone remembers that sketch of "him" that was widely publicised at the time.Watching the old black and white footage it all came flooding back what times were like then.It was amazing too that one of those poor womens' bodies lay in a derelict tenement for two days,and that her sister, prompted by local childrens stories of having seen a dead body,made the discovery herself.
I was surprised too that the Barrowland Ballroom in those days attracted such a varied clientelle of married and singles many looking for clandestine meetings,and creating a wall of silence to police investigations.In fact one of those murder investigations was hampered because the victim had told her family she was off to a completely different ballroom.There have been many names in the frame over the years, and quite a few false trails,but the conclusion of the programme left one to bring ones own thoughts as to who was responsible,and indeed if only one person carried out the crimes.
I for one am in favour of capital punishment if the correct D.N.A. is in place,and at present we have the Robert Black trial going on,already serving a jail sentence for a number of murders,and who knows how many more.I certainly believe some individuals are intrinsically bad,and no amount of help will change them,

Willie.

[Canny Lass]

Hi,

I found the recent t.v. documentary on Bible John absolutely fascinating.
I certainly remember that era in Glasgow when everyone was talking about who the perpetrator(s) of those murders could be,and of course everyone remembers that sketch of "him" that was widely publicised at the time.Watching the old black and white footage it all came flooding back what times were like then.It was amazing too that one of those poor womens' bodies lay in a derelict tenement for two days,and that her sister, prompted by local childrens stories of having seen a dead body,made the discovery herself.I was surprised too that the Barrowland Ballroom in those days attracted such a varied clientelle of married and singles many looking for clandestine meetings,and creating a wall of silence to police investigations.In fact one of those murder investigations was hampered because the victim had told her family she was off to a completely different ballroom.The conclusion of the programme left one to bring ones own thoughts as to who was responsible,but the details of these crimes was unspeakable.
I for one am in favour of capital punishment,and at present we have the Robert Black trial going on,already serving a jail sentence for a number of murders,and who knows how many more.I certainly believe some individuals are intrinsically bad,and no amount of help will change them,

Willie.

Cheery stuff, Willie.

Aye capital punishment is a great idea. Pity if the deid person turns oot tae be innocent.

[willie campbell]

Cheery stuff, Willie.

Aye capital punishment is a great idea. Pity if the deid person turns oot tae be innocent.

[willie campbell]

I think if the correct D.N.A.is in place then I would be all for it.

[harper]

I didn't see the documentary, Willie, but his name in the title of the thread still makes me shudder.

As a child, Bible John was a regular stand in for the bogey man that would come a get you if your didn't behave. I am not sure if this was common place or I just came from a particularly weird family.

I thought they had had a death bed confession some years ago? By my reckoning Bible Jophn would be well into his 70/80s now? What was the conclusion of the dicumentary? Do you think they will ever find out who he was?

I am against the death penalty, Willie because I think it reduces us to the level of the killer. How can we condemn the act of taking a life by taking one in return?

Nice to see you back, btw. I hope your trip was enjoyable.

[willie campbell]

I didn't see the documentary, Willie, but his name in the title of the thread still makes me shudder.

As a child, Bible John was a regular stand in for the bogey man that would come a get you if your didn't behave. I am not sure if this was common place or I just came from a particularly weird family.

I thought they had had a death bed confession some years ago? By my reckoning Bible Jophn would be well into his 70/80s now? What was the conclusion of the dicumentary? Do you think they will ever find out who he was?

I am against the death penalty, Willie because I think it reduces us to the level of the killer. How can we condemn the act of taking a life by taking one in return?

Nice to see you back, btw. I hope your trip was enjoyable.

[willie campbell]

Hi Miss Harper,

the programme put forward the name of the man they thought could have committed the crimes,but I am not sure if I can name him here.This person has a history of multiple murders,travelled round the country in his job,had a number of alias's,also early photos of him fit the description of Bible John.We shall see what D.N.A. brings up.
You are right..parents would threaten you with Bible John getting you if you were bad,and until the murders thought to be committed by him stopped,there was a definite element of fear in the city.
I look at the number of serial killers incarcerated in jails for years,unable to be rehabilitated,never going to be released,and you think whats the point.
My good friend Anne and me were talking about this documentary last week and she told me a neighbour of hers at that time had to carry a letter from the police stating on headed notepaper that "this man was not Bible John",as he had been lifted so many times on suspicion simply because he looked so like the photo fit.Thats an indication of what it was like then and the desperation to nail the perpetrator.
Good to speak with you too,

Willie.x.

[samscafeamericain]

The best scientific evidence available convicted the Birmingham 6, the fact that such evidence proved to be absolutely useless 8 years later would be of no consolation to their families had they gone to meet the hangman

[willie campbell]

The best scientific evidence available convicted the Birmingham 6, the fact that such evidence proved to be absolutely useless 8 years later would be of no consolation to their families had they gone to meet the hangman

[willie campbell]

I think D.N.A. evidence has come on leaps and bounds since 1975,so I would still be for capital punishment based on todays stats,

Willie.

[harper]

I don't see how any society can condemn a person for murder, adopt the moral and legal highground and then repeat the same act. It desn't make sense, IMV.

[samscafeamericain]

I think D.N.A. evidence has come on leaps and bounds since 1975,so I would still be for capital punishment based on todays stats,

Willie.

Anything that involves human beings is fallible. Capital punishment is an abomination and has been shown to result in more crime, not less.

[willie campbell]

Anything that involves human beings is fallible. Capital punishment is an abomination and has been shown to result in more crime, not less.

[willie campbell]

On a sliding scale of abominations,serial killers win hands down,as does being serially fallible with innocent lives.I hope capital punishment gets voted in soon.

[Dexter St. Clair]

On a sliding scale of abominations,serial killers win hands down,as does being serially fallible with innocent lives.I hope capital punishment gets voted in soon.

Well it won't so waste your time on something else. DNA is not infallible. Humans still have to interpret what it means.

DNA provides an extremely high probability of correct identification, not certainty.

New Scientist reveals that much of the DNA analysis now conducted in crime labs can suffer from worrying subjectivity and bias. We asked forensic analysts to interpret a sample of real DNA evidence and found that they reached opposing conclusions about whether the suspect matched it or not. Our subsequent survey of labs around the world also shows that there are significant inconsistencies in the guidelines on how to interpret a sample. The findings suggest that the difference between prison and freedom could often rest on the opinions of a single individual.

I'm sure your ancestors thought the shame of someone's head would indicate their criminal or not tendencies.

[willie campbell]

Well it won't so waste your time on something else. DNA is not infallible. Humans still have to interpret what it means.

DNA provides an extremely high probability of correct identification, not certainty.



I'm sure your ancestors thought the shame of someone's head would indicate their criminal or not tendencies.

[willie campbell]

Waste of time Dexy ?Now you are just being silly of course,oh,and my ancestors?I've no idea what they thought about head shapes cause I wasn't there,perhaps thats in the New Scientist too or Head Shape Monthly,so do lets see a print of that if you have it to hand.Or were you just being subjective all along?

[Dexter St. Clair]

Waste of time Dexy ? Now you are just being silly of course, oh, and my ancestors? I've no idea what they thought about head shapes cause I wasn't there, perhaps that's in the New Scientist too or Head Shape Monthly, so do lets see a print of that if you have it to hand. Or were you just being subjective all along?

Is high probability enough to execute someone convicted of murder?

[Pat]

Is high probability enough to execute someone convicted of murder?

It's not.

[willie campbell]

Is high probability enough to execute someone convicted of murder?