Why was the Death penalty abolished in the 1960s?

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Why was the Death penalty abolished in the 1960s?

The death penalty, or capital punishment as it is also known, refers to the practice of executing someone in punishment of a specific crime. Movements against the death penalty can be seen throughout history, but it was in 1969 when the Death Penalty was abolished in Britain and there were many factors influencing this decision.

One of the leading factors to why the death penalty was abolished in 1960s was due to the influence of the Labour party which was elected in the 1964 General Election. The labour party reflected the more liberal views of society and when the death penalty was finally abolished for ordinary crimes, it was under the Labour party in 1965. However, to fully understand why the death penalty was abolished in the 1960s, we must first understand when the changing attitudes towards the death penalty began.

Tomlinson claims that Labour began 'emerging in 1906' and was against the death penalty from the beginning. For example, in 1929, a Labour member proposed the idea that capital punishment should be put on hold for an experimental five years; however as Mortensen