60 years ago today, the ironically-named Murder Act of 1965 is given Royal Assent, formally abolishing the death penalty in the United Kingdom for almost all crimes. Introduced by MP for Liverpool Sydney Silverman, it replaced hanging with mandatory sentences of life-imprisonment in all but 4 cases. The outstanding exceptions related to military-intelligence crimes, such as piracy with the intent to cause grievous injury, high treason, and espionage. READ more… (1965)

No executions have occurred in the United Kingdom since the Murder Act of 1965. The last were on August 13th, 1964, when Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans were hanged for murdering John Alan West during a theft four months earlier.

During the Troubles Westminster passed the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, abolishin

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