"Hanging in the Balance" traces the History of capital punishment in the United Kingdom from ancient times to the modern day - through periods of reform until hanging for murder was finally abolished by Parliament in 1969. It describes in detail the Parliamentary and public debates, and notes the stance taken by organizations and individuals (including the tenacious and persistent Sydney Silverman MP). The book collates data and references not previously brought together in one place-and in exploring the underlying issues and the recurring arguments about deterrence, retribution and expediency it provides an invaluable resource vis-a-vis the same debate in the many countries where capital punishment still exists.Lord Callaghan was home secretary at the time of abolition. His 'Foreword' conveys how strong his personal feelings were concerning the death penalty from the time he entered Parliament in 1945. The book's closing chapters record how his insistence that abolition should become permanent ultimately overcame the still considerable opposition. Capital punishment was finally abolished in 1999 throughout the UK. For all practical purposes this had already happened in 1969 when the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 was made fully effective into following a trial period.

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Yes, you can access Hanging in the Balance by Block, Brian P., Hostettler, John in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Law & Legal History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher

Waterside Press

Year

1997

ISBN

9781908162397

Topic

Law

Subtopic

Legal History

Index

Law

Cover
About the authors
Copyright and publication details
CONTENTS
Foreword
Preface
1. Capital Crimes
2. Gruesome Scenes
3. Moves To Minimise Capital Punishment
4. Rush To Reform
5. Executions in Private
6. Abolition of Public Hangings
7. The Campaign at Bay
8. Towards a Select Committee
9. Peace and War
10. The Silverman Amendment
11. The Royal Commission
12. Trials and Tribulations
13. A Quiet Report
14. Another Victory: Another Defeat
15. The Homicide Act 1957
16. Confusion
17. The Trend Towards Abolition
18. Abolition
19. The End of the Rope
Afterword
APPENDIX I: Milestones to Abolition
APPENDIX II: Prime Ministers from 1800 to 1970
APPENDIX III: Home Secretaries from 1800 to 1970
Select Bibliography
Index
Back cover