The Law: Life Without the Hangman

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Great Britain did away with the death penalty in murder cases in November 1965. Almost by reflex, advocates of capital punishment then argued that without the deterrence of executions, the number of killings would soar. For those who judge by headlines, it looked for a while as if the critics might be right. British papers seemed to overflow with stories about THREE POLICEMEN SHOT DEAD and TWO LITTLE GIRLS MURDERED.

Pressure groups, including the police, began demanding the return of the hangman. The demand seems to have been premature. According to recently announced figures for 1966, there were only 173 murders in England, Scotland and Wales&*151;compared with 183 and 180 in the two previous years.

If the murder rate holds steady until 1970, when Parliament is scheduled to review the effects of the suspension, the government is extremely unlikely to call for the restoration of capital punishment. Besides, every execution device in Britain has been dismantled, with the sole exception of the gallows at Wands-worth Prison. It is kept in readiness to dispatch the few offenders still liable to the death sentence—traitors, and those guilty of the arcane crimes of arson in Her Majesty's dockyards and piracy with violence.