Life imprisonment in the past, the punishment for murder was capital punishment (execution). The death sentence was carried out in En, gland by hanging. The death penalty was abol- ished for this crime by the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, which introduced instead a mandatory life sentence: this means that after a defendant has been convicted of murder, the judge must sentence him or her to life impris- onment, making a recommendation of a minimum term (period) of detention, for example, 15 or 30 years, during which the prisoner cannot be considered for release. Even after release from prison—once he is no longer considered a danger to public safety—a convicted murderer remains ‘on licence’ for the rest of his life and therefore ‘under the state’s control?” Ge Were iin ae aaa AE he Aa we conar in tha Mana!jens eat aoa ° Lord Bingham expresses the view, below, that an offender should get his just joerts—the appropriate punishment that he or she deserves for the crime. What factors should be taken into account in determining that punishment? it is a cardinal principle of morality, justice, and democratic government that an offender guilty of crime should be sentenced by the court to such penalty as his crime merits, taking account of all the circumstances including the nature of the crime, the circumstances of the offender, the effect of the crime on the victim and the victim’s family, the need to prevent the offender from re-offending and deter others from offending in the same way, and the need to protect the public. Relevant factors that a judge must take into account in sentencing an offender include not only the circumstances and nature of the crime itself, but also ‘the circumstances of the offender’ and ‘the effect of the crime’ suffered by the victim and his or her family; prevention, deterrence and protection of the public are all to be taken into account. Lord Bingham goes on to state strongly that this ‘cardinalprincipe of morality, justice, and democratic government hag abandoned by the British legislature in the case of murder, si specific sentence must be handed down by the judge: life im been de ; ce by tage Prisonment is sng, ‘The death penalty Whats your personal opinion onthe use ofthe death penalty? ju, mn 5 Vie 1 you suport the death penalty, fr what crimes would you propos ig 4 methods of execution do you consider humane? Md iy Compare your views to Amnesty International's postion, expressed beloyy, ‘The death penalty isthe ultimate denial of human rights, It is the e ' Premeditated cold-blooded kiln ofa human being by the statin the name of justice. tt the righ to if as prolimed in the Univeral Deaton of Human Right the ultimate cruel, inhuman and de is ing punishment, whatever form it , toning, shooting or lethal injection i Year by year, Amnesty International's annual reports on the death a growing trend in the world towards abolitionism; in its report on the organisation conclude that countries that continue to use the death pena, are ‘increasingly isolated following a decade of progress towards abolition’ x, total of 31 countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice during 10-year period,!! Of the many convincing arguments against the use of the death penalty in system of justice, perhaps the most impossible to refute is that itis an irreversbe penalty. The English case of Derek Bentley provides a bitter illustration: On the evening of 2 November 1952 Police Constable Sidney Miles was shot dead in the execution of his duty on the roof of a warehouse in Croydon. Two men were charged with his murder: Christopher Craig, who was then aged 16; and Derek William Bentley, who was 19. On 17th November 1952 they were committed to stand trial on 9th December at the Central Criminal Court, where they were tried before Lord Goddard C} and a jury. They were convicted on 11th December, in Bentley’s case with a recommendation to mercy. The trial judge passed on each the only sentence permitted by law: on Craig, because of his age, that he be detained during Her Majesty's Pleasure; on Bentley, sentence of death. An appeal by Bentley against conviction was dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeal (Croom Johnson, Ormerod and Pearson J}) on 13th January 1953, He was executed on 28th January.!®2 electrocution, hanging, gassing, behea Penalty shoy, the year 2019,five years later, pronouncing judgment in an appeal against conviction forty’ in 1998, the Lord Chief Justice, President of the Criminal Division of the pie! Appeal, expressed regret for the miscarriage of justice: yorall the reasons given in this section of the judgment we think that the conviction ofthe appellant [Bentley] was unsafe. We accordingly allow the appeal and quash his conviction. It must be a matter of profound and continuing regret that this mistrial oxurred and that the defects we have found were not recognised at the time.'% There had been a mistrial: it was found that the judge in the murder trial had misdirected the jury (the prefix mis- indicates something done wrongly or badly). inaddition, fresh evidence was assessed by the court, including medical and school reports, casting doubt on Bentley’s mens rea. The case was conducted on behalf othe appellant by a family member, his niece!