Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to abolish capital punishment in the case of persons convicted in Great Britain of murder or convicted of murder or a corresponding offence by court-martial and, in connection therewith, to make further provision for the punishment of persons so convicted. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1965c. 71 |
| Introduced by | Sydney Silverman |
| Territorial extent | England and WalesandScotland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 8 November 1965 |
| Commencement | 9 November 1965[2] |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Criminal Justice Act 1967,Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973,Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1974,Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975,Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000,Criminal Justice Act 2003,Armed Forces Act 2006 |
| Relates to | Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973. |
Status: Amended | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
TheMurder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965[1](c. 71) is anactof theParliament of the United Kingdom.It abolished thedeath penaltyfor murder in Great Britain (the death penalty for murder survived in Northern Ireland until 1973). The act replaced the penalty of death with amandatory sentenceofimprisonment for life.
Provisions
[edit]The 1965 act amended theHomicide Act 1957,which had already reduced hangings to only four or fewer per year.[3]
The 1965 act was introduced to Parliament as aprivate member's billbySydney SilvermanMP. The act provides that charges ofcapital murderat the time it was passed were to be treated as charges of simple murder and all sentences of death were to be commuted to sentences of life imprisonment. The legislation contained asunset clause,which stated that the act would expire on 31 July 1970 "unless Parliament by affirmativeresolutionsof both Houses otherwise determines ".[4]Resolutions were passed in the Commons and Lords on 16 and 18 December 1969, thereby making the act permanent.[5]
Subsequent events
[edit]No executions have occurred in the United Kingdom since the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965. The last were on 13 August 1964, when Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans were hanged formurdering John Alan Westduring a theft four months earlier, a death penalty crime under the 1957 act.[3]The 1965 act left four capital offences:high treason,"piracy with violence"(piracy with intent to kill or causegrievous bodily harm),arson in royal dockyardsandespionage,as well as other capital offences undermilitary law.
The 1965 act did not extend toNorthern Ireland,where Westminster seldom overrode the criminal law responsibility of theParliament of Northern Irelandat Stormont. Duringthe TroublesWestminster passed theNorthern Ireland Constitution Act 1973,abolishing Stormont, and theNorthern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973,abolishing the death penalty for murder there. The death penalty was not fully abolished in the United Kingdom until 1998 by theHuman Rights Act 1998and theCrime and Disorder Act 1998.
See also
[edit]- Death penalty
- Murder in English law
- Capital punishment in the United Kingdom
- Caribbean Territories (Abolition of Death Penalty for Murder) Order 1991
Notes
[edit]- ^abThe citation of this act by this short title is authorised bysection 3(1)of this act.
- ^The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, section 3(4)
- ^abSeal, Lizzie (12 March 2019)."A brief history of capital punishment in Britain".BBC History Magazine.Retrieved8 September2019.
- ^Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965,section 4
- ^Hansard: HC Deb 16 December 1969 vol 793 cc1297, HL Deb 18 December 1969 vol 306 cc1264-1321; "On this Day; 1969: MPs vote to abolish hanging".BBC.16 December 2008.Retrieved25 June2017.
Further reading
[edit]- Brian P. Block; John Hostettler (1997).Hanging in the balance: a history of the abolition of capital punishment in Britain.Waterside Press.ISBN1-872870-47-3.
External links
[edit]- Text of the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, fromlegislation.gov.uk.
- Indexes of mentions inHansard: