Shamed pop star Gary Glitter is to be "executed" in a new television programme examining capital punishment.
The 90-minute Channel 4 film reintroduces the death penalty to Britain and explores public attitudes to it.
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, signed the Sex Offenders' Register last year after
spending time in jail in Vietnam for child sex offences.
He had previously spent four months in prison in the UK in 1999 for downloading child pornography.
In the drama, called The Execution of Gary Glitter, the fallen star
is the first person to be tried under the new Capital Crimes Against
Children legislation.
The film has been shot in the style of a documentary and follows Glitter's fictional arrest and police interview.
He is then given the death sentence and hanged after public outrage over child abuse cases.
A Channel 4 spokesperson says they have contacted Glitter to tell him about the programme.
A poll commissioned by Channel 4 found 70% of those surveyed thought
the UK should have the death penalty as the maximum possible penalty
for the most serious crimes.
Channel 4's head of documentaries Hamish Mykura said: "High profile
crimes against children often prompt calls for the return of the death
penalty - this drama confronts the public with what many say they want."
He added that it is "an intelligent and thought-provoking examination of the issue".
Kate Allen from the human rights charity
Amnesty International UK does not believe capital punishment deters crime.
She told Sky News Online: "We've always found that public support
for capital punishment falls dramatically when people are confronted
with the grim reality of what it means to put a person on trial for
their life and then kill them.
"In the end, I don't think the death penalty is what people in the UK really want."
The programme will be shown on November 7.
Subject: Gary Glitter 'Executed' In Channel 4 Film 
Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:47 am
