penalty is a classic case of "two cheers for democracy''.

Two right decisions were taken: The death penalty and judicial corporal punishment, barbaric anachronisms which have no place in society, were abolished at last.

Sadly, the process by which the vote was taken was wrong. This was because: Four Government MPs who spoke in favour of retention appeared to absent themselves when the vote was taken, giving credence to reports that they had been ordered not to vote against the bill; No attention was given to proposals that judges be given more discretion in sentencing; and The public was given no input into this vital vote, giving the lie to the idea that this Government believes in public consultation.

This newspaper has consistently supported abolition in its editorials because it does not believe the state has the right to take lives, because the death penalty has not proven its deterrent value and because it is very clear that the death penalty will never be used in Bermuda.

But few people would agree with the notion, now placed in law, that all murders are the same and that all murderers should be treated in the same way.

While rehabilitation may work in some cases, only the utterly naive can believe that it always works. Few people will feel comfortable if a serial killer or a mass murderer is released after serving 25 years or less.

The rehabilitation services currently on offer in the Island's prisons give no cause for comfort whatsoever; it is criminal that the Government could bring this bill forward without any kind of accompanying detail on how rehabilitation is to be improved.

So it was surprising that the Government did not take up Shadow Legislative Affairs Minister John Barritt's reasonable suggestion that judges be given discretion to order longer prison sentences, including life without parole in the worst cases.

What is more disturbing is that the four Government MPs who spoke in favour of retention did not feel free to vote their consciences on an issue which is intensely personal. That was a sad end to a fine debate in which all sides of the argument were argued in detail and with passion.

It can be argued that the United Bermuda Party is culpable as well; it is hard to believe that all 13 MPs who voted backed the death penalty. However, it would seem that those who might have favoured abolition wanted more flexibility in sentencing.

The House of Assembly is often criticised, with justice, for its low and divisive calibre of debate. On Friday night and Saturday morning, the Island's MPs showed the heights they can reach on an issue when it really matters; they were let down by the Government's leadership when they felt unable to vote the way they felt.

Not only were they deprived of the right to vote their consciences, they were refused the right to cast a vote on behalf of their constituents. That is not democracy.