10th October 2011
The Death Penalty
Today is the 9th World Day against the Death Penalty. It is the longstanding policy of the UK to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. However the death penalty is not prohibited by international law and 58 countries in the world retain it – that is 58 too many. The United Kingdom abolished the death penalty for murder in 1965. The last time a person was executed in the United Kingdom was on 1 November 1965.
Many states claim that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, and that a society cannot afford to abolish it for fear of generating more crime. This is particularly true in countries where there are high levels of crime, and particularly violent crime, be they democracies or ruled by other forms of government. And yet numerous academic studies have failed to establish that execution is a stronger deterrent than the prospect of a longer sentence, or that it stops crime. For example, in the United States where the death penalty in still applied in many States, murder rates are highest in those southern States that tend to execute most people.
There are many arguments that can be marshalled against the death penalty. We consider that the use of the death penalty fundamentally undermines human dignity, and people of faith often say that it can never be for man to take away something that is God-given and sacred. Others who take a more pragmatic view, share our concern that any miscarriage of justice leading to its imposition is irreversible and irreparable. At the very least, EU and international minimum standards need to be applied wherever the death penalty is practised, including only carrying out the death penalty for the most serious crimes, and not executing pregnant women or those under 18. A formal moratorium on the death penalty is sometimes a way forward for a country, where abolition is unlikely in the near future and can be viewed as a longer term goal.
There is an international trend towards abolition of the death penalty. This 10 October provides a moment to reflect on its practice, and to encourage those states which retain the death penalty to formally establish a moratorium with a view to abolition.