61 years ago today, the ironically-named Murder Act of 1965 is given Royal Assent, formally abolishing the death penalty in the United Kingdom for almost all crimes. Introduced by MP for Liverpool Sydney Silverman, it replaced hanging with mandatory sentences of life-imprisonment in all but 4 cases. The outstanding exceptions related to military-intelligence crimes, such as piracy with the intent to cause grievous injury, high treason, and espionage. READ more... (1965)
