THERE can’t be many people in Gwent who weren’t shocked by the murders committed by CarlWhant and Gavin Mills.

Whant raped and murdered the heavily pregnant teenager Nikitta Grender, also destroying the life of her unborn baby, before trying to cover up his horrific crime by setting her home alight. Then he used his trial to smear his victim’s character.

Thankfully, his spurious appeal over the length of the life sentence tariff he was given – 35 years – was dismissed last week by some of Britain’s top judges, who rightly described him as a dangerous man.

Gavin Mills carried out an attack on a pensioner, the Polish baker Jerzy Dubiniec, which was so sickening most of us cannot conceive of what led him to do it. He was given a 12-and-a-half-year minimum tariff on his life sentence.

Not much for destroying a life.

And I know that many people’s first thought after reading those stories will be a call to re-introduce the death penalty.

But I cannot agree with them.

And before there are howls about my “bleeding-heart liberal”

stance, here are my reasons.

Firstly, cold, hard facts. Adeath penalty does not act as such a deterrent that it prevents the crime which tears the heart out of families.

Look at the USA, where more than 30 states have the death penalty and there are on average 20,000 murders a year. The murder rate is six times that of Britain and five times that of Australia, where there is no death penalty.

Texas has twice the murder rate ofWisconsin. Guess which state has the death penalty and which one doesn’t. In 2003, Texas and Oklahoma’s murder rates increased despite their death penalties. In Texas and Oklahoma, the killings continue. Because despite the death penalty people think they will get away with it. Or they simply don’t think at all.

Secondly, the death penalty would not bring back those victims, it would not end the loss and suffering of those victims’ families.

Their ‘sentence’ continues until the end of their own lives.

And thirdly, I do not believe that there is a hell where people like Whant and Mills would go if a death sentence were to be carried out.

I have no belief that there is an all-powerful being who weighs our good deeds and misdeeds and rewards or punishes us accordingly.

It would be comforting if I did, that idea that someone, somewhere will make these people pay for their sickening actions. But the universe isn’t like that.

Instead, what I see is the prospect of a quick and far less painful death than these killers inflicted on their victims.

And an end. No further atonement, no payment for past sins. An escape.

These killers must be kept alive to face what they have done every day for the rest of their lives.

The legal system says that at the end of their tariffs, when they can be considered for parole, they have to prove to the parole board that they are not a danger to the public.

And they remain on licence for the rest of their lives.

But that is simply not enough for cold-hearted killers like these.

How can they not be a danger after what they have done?

These were not cases where there is a hope of redemption. The violence they showed was systematic and terrifying. Mills checked his victim for a pulse, and carried on beating him.

These murderers should never again be allowed to walk our streets as free men. PANEL Fight the Good Fight for 70 years IT WAS entertaining to read the story of Floss and Harry Lucas, the Birmingham couple who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last week.

Not for them the usual platitudes about give and take.

Floss, 91, said: “I never thought we’d stay married this long because we’ve had loads of arguments. We love each other, of course, but we’re fighting most of the time.

“At least once a day for the last 70 years.”