Capital Punishment in the United Kingdom - Research Paper Example

? Capital Punishment in the United Kingdom Introduction Capital punishment refers to the legitimate inflictionof the death penalty, death sentence, or execution as a punishment by the state. Ever since the ancient times, capital punishment has been employed to cover a diverse range of offences. By 1500, only significant number felonies carried the death penalty such as treason, murder, burglary, rape, arson, and larceny. In the United Kingdom, death by hanging remained the prime means of execution. The last executions in the United Kingdom were carried out in 1964 before abolishment of capital punishment for murder in Great Britain, which happened in 1969. The elimination of the death penalty in all circumstances eventually took place in 1998. Similarly, the 13th Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights in 2004 outlawed the restoration of the death penalty, provided that the United Kingdom continued to be a party to the convention. History of Capital Punishment in the United Kingdom Hanging used to be the chief mode of execution in the United Kingdom since the 5th Century; other practices included drawing, quartering, beheading, burning at the stake, shooting, drowning, and hurling from cliffs. In 1196, the first person was hanged at Tyburn as a punishment for sedition. From 1351, the capital offences that attracted the death penalty included treason, witchcraft, murder, rape, piracy, robbery, arson, embezzlement of master properties, and theft (Davies 2007, p. 107). Efforts directed at the abolition of the death penalty had been ongoing since the late 1700s. In 1770, Sir William Meredith challenged parliament to consider proportionate punishments rather than capital punishments. Nevertheless, the proposal failed; however, it opened up the debate. Every year, there were over thousand death sentencing, although only a sizeable number of executions took place (Levinson 2002, p.155). In 1810, Sir Samuel Romilly remarked that United Kingdom had the most offences according to law to be punished by the death penalty. At its height, the criminal law, otherwise labeled as the “Bloody Code,” had categorized 220 crimes punishable by death. Sir Samuel Romilly attempted to convince parliament to de-capitalize minor offences, especially much of the Act of King William (Block & Hostettler 1997, p.109). Execution for crimes such as murder, robbery, and burglary were frequent; however, capital punishment for minor offenders were mainly not carried out. Nevertheless, in some instances, children could be executed for crimes such as stealing. A death sentence could be commuted on the grounds of benefit of clergy, official pardons, or execution of military duty (Stearman 2008, p.47). Statistics indicate that, between 1770 and 1830, close to 35,000 death sentences were handed out, out of which about 7,000 executions happened. At the time, prisons comprised of small, crowded, and badly run institutions, a situation that led to incorporation of punishments like transportation of offenders to distant lands such as America and Australia. During the 1830s, the masses had started to express doubts on the punishments (Block and Hostettler 1997, p. 110). Many more prisons were built while the old ones were extended to avail a fresh mode of punishment. The overriding notion centered on making prisons unpleasant places to stay in order to discourage people from committing crimes. Reform In Europe, reforms on the subject of the death penalty, championed by academics, started around 1750. Year 1808 witnessed abolishment of capital punishment for pickpockets and lesser offenders. This set the onset for the reform process perpetuated over the next fifty years. Nevertheless, capital punishment remained operational even though the government occasionally commuted the death penalty. The Judgment of Death Act 1823 awarded power to judges to commute the death penalty excluding cases of treason and murder (Levinson 2002, p.156). The Punishment of Death Act 1832 minimized the number of capital crimes by almost a two thirds margin. Similarly, capital punishment was lifted for counterfeiting and cases of forgery. Between 1832- and 1834, the parliament eliminated the death penalty in cases centering on shoplifting of goods worth five shillings or less, sacrilege, and letter stealing. The move to abolish punishments considered disproportionate to the crime enhanced the rate of convictions. Judges were able to pass multiple sentences considered as appropriate. Gibbeting, where the bodies of the executed persons were displayed publicly in cages, was eliminated in 1843 while hanging in chains was eliminated in 1834. In addition, in 1861, a number of Acts of parliament (24 and 25; 94 to 100) shrunk the number of civilian capital offences to five, which included treason, murder, espionage, arson, and piracy, as well as offences under military law. Capital offences still remained compulsory in cases of treason and murder unless in instances when the capital punishment is commuted. From 1864-1866, the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment concluded it was not a case for the abolition of capital punishment; nevertheless, the commission recommended abolishment of public executions. The proposal by the commission was incorporated in the Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868, which stipulated that executions should no longer be carried out in public, but in prison (Hodgkinson & Rutherford 1996, p.209). Moreover, the practices of hanging, beheading, and quartering executed traitors were put to an end in the 1870. Major developments transpired a century later, when parliament voted to suspend the death penalty for murder in 1965. The passage of the bill into law came in the backdrop of three failed attempts by the House of Commons to abolish the death penalty for murder. Capital Punishment from the 20th Century The Law did not allow any other sentence apart from death by hanging in cases of murder. There was only one appeal on the grounds of conviction that could be mounted to the Court of Criminal Appeal, which detailed the judge misdirecting the jury and erroneous points of Law. If the Attorney General perceived the case to contain significant points of law, the Attorney General had the alternative of directing the case to the House of Lords. Other options available to the Home Secretary included allowing the Law taking its course or subjecting the convict to the mental condition assessment (Hodgkinson & Rutherford 1996, p.210). The Children Act 1908, excluded juveniles under the age of 16 from execution. In 1922, infanticide replaced murder for parents who kill their infants. In 1930, a parliamentary Select Committee seconded suspension of capital punishment for a trial period of five years. From 1931, pregnant women could no longer be executed following the birth of their child. This was contrary to practice since death sentences had always been commuted from 18th century. In 1933, the minimum age of capital punishment was upgraded to 18 years courtesy of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. The issue of abolition of capital punishment was first brought before parliament in 1938. A clause in the Criminal Justice Bill expressed a five year deferment of the death penalty. A House of Commons vote sought to abolish hanging in peacetime for a five year experiment. However, the onset of Second World War heralded adjournment of the legislation until the return of peace. With the end of Second World War, the bill was revived, even though the abolition clause was defeated. The remainder of the bill was adopted in the House of Lords through a popular vote of 245 to 222. The Labour government constituted the Royal Commission on death penalty in 1948, while the conservative government advanced a compromised legislation on death penalty in 1957 (Block & Hostettler 1997, p.111). In pursuit of the topical issue of abolition of capital punishment, the Home Secretary constituted the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment (1949-1953) to explore as to whether the responsibility to be subjected to capital punishment should be limited or modified. The commission’s report also explored alternative modes of execution by hanging, inclusive of U.S. modes of electrocution, and gassing, and possibly lethal injection, all of which were turned down. The overriding issue that the commission explored hinged on the principle of capital punishment (Levinson 2002, p. 157). The commission’s report heralded some slight modifications to a variety of aspects within the system. One of the outstanding recommendations was the requirement for a compulsory psychiatric examination for persons charged and convicted of murder. The report also suggested enhancements in the execution process. This was an uphill task as popular opinion suggested that the death penalty was a significant deterrent to criminality. The commission’s report recommended the abolition of capital punishment from an ethical standpoint (Rainey 2012, p. 62). However, the commission did not explore the possibility of miscarriage of justice. By then, dissatisfaction within the public was rife, and doubts frequently arose over convictions and hangings. The commission also maintained that, except in cases where there was overpowering public support in support of abolition of capital punishment, the death penalty was to be retained. Between the year 1900 and 1949, a total of 621 men and 11 women were executed in both England and Wales. During the First World War, about ten Germans were executed under the Defence of the Realm Act 1914, while about sixteen spies were sentenced throughout the Second World War. By 1957, the increasing number of controversial cases centering on capital punishment revived debate on the abolition of capital punishment. Owing to the coverage given by the British media, some of the cases were utilized to advance their cause. Calls for the abolition of capital punishment were heightened upon discovery of the innocence of some executed persons. Indeed, from 1945 to 1998, three people received posthumous pardons; Timothy Evans in 1966 and both Mahood Mattan and Derek Bentley in 1998. The prevalent debate was fruitful since it led to passage of Homicide Act 1957. The controversy surrounding post Second World War cases fuelled agitation for the abolishment of capital punishment. The Act was credited bold as it brought about a distinction between capital and noncapital homicide. The Act brought about a concise distinction of six categories of murder punishable by execution. The categories encompassed murder of a police officer, murder in the course of theft, shooting or perpetrating an explosion, murder during an escape, murder of a prison officer by a prisoner, and the second of two murders perpetrated at diverse occasions. The restrictions attempted to reserve the decisive punishment in Law to individuals perceived by society as deserving the final and irreparable punishment. Abolition of Capital Punishment The Second World War altered much of the attitudes of in the United Kingdom. The war had a phenomenal effect on class barriers within the society. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights shaped the foundation of the European Convention on Human Rights. The protocols imposed by the body were endorsed by the United Kingdom in 1950. The adoption formed the basis of arguments on the abolition of the death penalty. In 1965, the then leftwing Labor MP Sydney Silverman, who was passionate on the cause of the abolition for more than twenty years, introduced a private member’s bill aimed at suspending the death penalty. The Bill received royal consent and was legislated by the House of Commons (200 votes to 98). The Abolition of Death Penalty Act 1965 suspended the death penalty in England, Wales, and Scotland for a period of five years. The murder sentence was substituted with an obligatory sentence of life imprisonment. In addition, the Act granted that prior to the end of the five-year suspension, every house of parliament that wished to pass a resolution expressing to make the act permanent, the resolution will be rendered permanent. In 1969, a motion was proposed to make the Act permanent. Death penalty for murder was eliminated in Northern Ireland in 1973 under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973. After the eradication of the capital punishment, the House of Commons sequentially voted to restore the death penalty. However, the motions were always defeated, which led to the retaining of the death penalty for other crimes other than murder. Final Abolition of Capital Punishment The Criminal Damage Act legislated in the 1971 eliminated the offence of arson in royal dockyards. Subsequently, the Armed Forces Act 1981 eliminated the death penalty for cases of espionage. Previously, there were five counts of wartime capital offences; severe misconduct in action, aiding the enemy, contact with the enemy, frustrating operations, mutiny to incitement, or failure to repress a mutiny. Execution practice of beheading was eliminated in 1973 for the punishment of treason. Nevertheless, hanging still remained a viable method of execution until 1998, when the House of Lords amended the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to remove the death penalty for cases of treason and piracy with violence. The enactments replaced the death penalty with a discretionary sentence for life imprisonment (Carlsnaes, Sjursen & White 2004, p.136). The abolished death penalties were the last civilian offences liable to be punished by death. The House of Commons ratified the 6th protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights on 20th May 1998 (Yorke 2008, p.9). The ratification of the protocol meant that the death penalty was abolished unless in times of war or an impending threat of war. The remaining provisions for the death penalty under military jurisdiction were expunged when section 21 (5) of the Human Rights Act 1998 came into effect. Effectively from 1st February 2004, United Kingdom consented to the 13th modus operandi of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibited the death penalty under all circumstances (Yorke 2008, p.10). Hence, United Kingdom could no longer legislate to reinstate the death penalty as long as it remains subject to the convention. The United Kingdom can only restore the death penalty if it withdraws from the Council of Europe. The developments concerning capital punishment abolition in United Kingdom were relatively in tandem with developments within Crown dependencies overseas territories. Execution Statistics In its 230-year reign (from 1735 to 1964), there were about 10,935 civilian executions in England and Wales. This comprised of 10,378 men and 557 women. In England, the last execution happened on 13th August 1964; in Scotland, the last execution took place on 15th August 1963. In Northern Ireland, the last execution for murder was carried out on 20th December 1961, while the last execution in Wales was carried out on 6th May 1958. The executions were punishments resulting from murder charges. The last death sentence in the United Kingdom was handed out in 1973; the offenders were charged with capital murder. From 1965, there were high profile cases of miscarriages of justice, which would otherwise have led to executions if the option could be accessible (Carlsnaes, Sjursen & White 2004, p.135). Cases of miscarriages of justice were instrumental in advancing the call for the abolition of capital punishment. Effect of Abolition on the Murder Rate According to the Home Office Report, the murder rate in England had a slight surge after passage of the 1957 Act. The murder rate also rose after suspension (effective abolition) of the death penalty in 1965. Similarly, the rate of crimes that would otherwise be classified as capital under the 1957 Act perpetually rose even in the 21st century to reach an average of 900 per year by 2004. Murder rates stood at 0.68 per 100,000 of the population in 1964 and stood at 1.42 per 100,000 in 2004. Arguments for the Death Penalty in the United Kingdom Advocates of the death penalty stipulate that capital punishment is valuable as it leads to incapacitation of the criminal. It is self evident that a dead criminal can no longer commit crimes, as opposed to an incarcerated one who may return to old ways after escaping or release from prison. Advocates of capital punishment suggest that the death penalty is cost saving as the government do not incurs further costs from long-term incarceration. Furthermore, the proponents advance arguments of retribution and deterrence. Proponents argue that capital punishment is a better deterrent to criminal behavior compared to imprisonment (Davies 2007, p.110). Arguments against the Death Penalty in the United Kingdom The most prominent argument against the death penalty revolves around the issue of miscarriage of justice; in case innocent persons are to be executed, there tends to be no feasible means of compensating them. Opposition to the death penalty also revolves around suffering subjected to the victim’s family. There are also lingering doubts on capability of countries to direct capital punishment justly. Opposition also stems from the argument that there cannot be a possible humane method of putting a person to death whereby executions have a brutalizing effect upon the society. Public Support for Reintroduction of Capital Punishment Since capital punishment was eradicated in 1965, there was an increasing public and media calls for reinstatement of the death penalty owing to high profile murder cases that were reigning in the United Kingdom society. Simultaneously, there used to be an increasing number of miscarriages of justice from 1965 whereby individuals were convicted of murder, but later had their conviction quashed on appeal and subsequently released from prison (Rainey 2012, p. 63). The miscarriages of justice reinforced the resolve of those against the reinstatement of the death penalty. High profile murder cases fuelled widespread calls for the return of the death penalty; this stemmed from the fact that the masses perceived the life imprisonment punishment handed out to the offenders as too lenient. A television survey conducted in November 2009 indicated that almost 70 percent of the population favored the reinstatement of the death penalty for violations such as rape, armed robbery, crimes related to terrorism and pedophilia, adult and child murder, treason, or kidnapping. Nevertheless, most respondents (about 50%) suggested that capital punishment was most appropriate in cases of adult murder. In August 2011, an e-petition calling for support or opposition to retaining of the death penalty received about 20,000 votes in support and 17,000 in opposition. In the United Kingdom, popularity of decisions centering on endorsement of the death penalty or opposition to reinstatement of the death penalty are fairly split at the middle. Britain still remains one of the prominent countries in Western Europe where a return of capital punishment is seriously proposed. Conclusion One may conclude that the actual or perceived maladministration of capital punishment led to its eventual failure. The ever changing attitude within the society and concerted campaigns by both the media and liberal pressure groups can be regarded as the key reasons, which resulted to the abolition of capital punishment in the United Kingdom. A majority of the subjects in the United Kingdom still favor the death penalty; hence, it is reasonable to look into their wishes despite the downside of their views. The debate on capital punishment does not seem to fade away from the United Kingdom public opinion soon. References List Block, B. & Hostettler, J. (1997). Hanging in the balance: a history of the abolition of capital punishment in Britain, Winchester, Waterside Press. pp. 109-110. Carlsnaes, W., Sjursen, H. & White, I. (2004). Contemporary European Foreign Policy, London, Sage. pp. 135-136. Davies, C. (2007). The Strange death of moral Britain, New Jersey, Transaction. pp.107-110. Hodgkinson, P. & Rutherford, A. (1996). Capital punishment: Global issues and prospects, Winchester, Waterside Press. pp.209-210. Levinson, D. (2002). Encyclopedia of crime and punishment, Volume 1-4, London, Sage. pp.155-157. Rainey, B. (2012). Human rights Law, Oxford, Oxford University Press. pp.62-63. Stearman, K. (2008). The debate about the death penalty, New York, Rosen. pp.47. Yorke, J. (2008). Against the death penalty: International initiatives and implications, Surrey, Ashgate. pp. 9-10. Read More