Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from the creation of the state in 1707 until the practice was abolished in the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom, by hanging, took place in 1964, prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder (in 1965 in Great Britain and in 1973 in Northern Ireland). Although not applied since, the death penalty was abolished in all circumstances in 1998. In 2004 the 13th Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights became binding on the United Kingdom, prohibiting the restoration of the death penalty for as long as the UK is a party to the Convention.
Read more about Capital Punishment In The United Kingdom: Background, Reform, Public Support For Reintroduction of Capital Punishment, Notable Executions in The United Kingdom
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“Like cellulite creams or hair-loss tonics, capital punishment is one of those panaceas that isn’t. Only it costs a whole lot more.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
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—Paul Goodman (1911–1972)
“It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical or should be regarded as merely cowardly.”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“How we dwelt in two worlds
the daughters and the mothers
in the kingdom of the sons.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)