Public punishments such as whippings, the stocks, the pillory, but particularly executions, were always very popular with the general public and were normally well attended events. In the days before newspapers and when few of the populace could read, they also served a practical purpose of allowing the inhabitants of a town to see justice done … Read more
Background.The concept of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy, i.e. reprieving people who had been sentenced to death, dates back a very long way in English law. We were all subjects of the reigning monarch and only he or she had the power of life or death over us prior to 1837. The monarch sat with … Read more
Over the last 280 years or so the law has progressively recognised insanity as an issue and realised that the insane require treatment rather than punishment. Below we look at the progress of this and some of the cases that shaped the law in England up to 1957. For those looking to study the history of capital punishment … Read more
The Aberdare Committee’s report provides a remarkably candid insight into the execution process in England and Wales between 1868 and 1888. The period from 1868 when public hangings ended up to 1886 saw a great deal of change in the way executions were carried out and also a significant number of unfortunate incidents. Readers wishing to explore the history of capital … Read more
In April 1948, the House of Commons voted in favour of a Bill introduced by Sidney Silverman to suspend the death penalty for five years. The Labour Home Secretary, James Chuter Ede, announced that he would reprieve all murderers until the future of the Bill was resolved. This resulted in 26 reprieves and no executions between March and October … Read more
