For centuries, the death penalty was a grim fixture of the British criminal justice system. The condemned, whether commoners or queens, faced the ultimate punishment for crimes ranging from murder and treason to theft and heresy. While the gallows may be gone, the dark legacy of capital punishment has left an indelible mark on British history.
Ancient Origins
The roots of the death penalty in Britain stretch back to ancient times. Under Roman rule, crucifixion, beheading, and burning were all used to execute criminals and political prisoners. Anglo-Saxon law codes from the 7th-9th centuries prescribed capital punishment for a range of offenses, including theft, arson, and adultery.[^1]
During the Middle Ages, the death penalty was often meted out in brutal fashion. In the 13th century, the punishment of being "hanged, drawn, and quartered" was introduced for those convicted of treason. The condemned would be dragged to the gallows, hanged almost to the point of death, then disemboweled and dismembered.[^2]
Other medieval execution methods included boiling alive, crushing with weights, and burning at the stake, which was commonly used to execute heretics and witches. Social status often determined the manner of execution – nobles were more likely to be beheaded with a sword or axe, considered a more honorable death than hanging.
Tudor Terror
The Tudor period saw a sharp increase in the use of capital punishment. Henry VIII, who reigned from 1509-1547, expanded the number of crimes punishable by death and executed an estimated 57,000 people during his reign.[^3] This included two of his own wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both beheaded for treason and adultery.
Religious persecution reached its peak under Henry‘s daughter, Mary I, who sought to restore Catholicism as the state religion. During her five-year reign from 1553-1558, around 280 Protestant dissenters were burned at the stake for heresy, earning her the moniker "Bloody Mary."[^4]
The Bloody Code
The 18th and early 19th centuries saw a vast expansion in the number of capital crimes. Under the so-called "Bloody Code," over 200 offenses could draw the death penalty by the 1800s, including crimes like shoplifting, poaching, and forgery.[^5] This harsh system fell disproportionately on the poor and working classes.
Hanging became the predominant method of execution during this period. The condemned were typically taken to a public gallows and hanged by the "short drop" method, which often resulted in a slow, agonizing death by strangulation. In 1783, the "long drop" was introduced, which used a lengthier rope to break the prisoner‘s neck and cause quicker death.[^6]
Despite the draconian nature of the Bloody Code, executions began to decline in the early 19th century. Many death sentences were commuted to transportation to penal colonies like Australia. Growing public unease with the death penalty also led to legal reforms, such as the 1823 Judgment of Death Act, which abolished the death penalty for over 100 crimes.[^7]
20th Century Controversy
The 20th century saw a renewed push for abolition, fueled by controversial cases that sparked public outrage. In 1923, Edith Thompson and her lover Freddy Bywaters were hanged for the murder of Thompson‘s husband. The case became a cause célèbre, with nearly a million people signing a petition for clemency amid reports Thompson‘s hanging was botched.[^8]
Another landmark case was that of Derek Bentley, a 19-year-old with a mental disability who was hanged in 1953 for the murder of a police officer, despite not firing the fatal shot. Bentley‘s execution led to a public inquiry and increased pressure on the government to abolish the death penalty.[^9]
The last woman executed in Britain was Ruth Ellis in 1955, who shot her abusive lover outside a London pub. Ellis‘s case, shaped by class and gender bias, further galvanized public opinion against capital punishment.
Abolition and Legacy
In 1965, Parliament passed the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act, which suspended the death penalty for murder in Great Britain (but not in Northern Ireland) for a period of five years. The Act was renewed in 1969, making the abolition permanent. The last executions in England took place in 1964, with the hanging of two men for murder.[^10]
However, the death penalty still formally existed for the crimes of treason and piracy until 1998, when they were abolished by the Crime and Disorder Act and the Human Rights Act. The last execution in the UK occurred in 1973, when two men were hanged for murder in Northern Ireland.[^11]
Today, the UK stands firmly against capital punishment, with both major parties opposing its reintroduction. The legacy of the death penalty, however, continues to be felt. Cases of wrongful execution, like those of Timothy Evans and Mahmood Mattan, have led to posthumous pardons and apologies.[^12] The gallows at London‘s Wandsworth Prison have been converted into a museum exhibit, a haunting reminder of a not-so-distant past.
The history of capital punishment in Britain is a long and often brutal one, shaped by changing attitudes towards crime, religion, and human rights. While the days of public hangings and the Bloody Code may be gone, the ethical and legal debates around the death penalty continue to resonate in Britain and around the world. As philosopher Albert Camus wrote, "Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders." The abolition of the death penalty in Britain marked a significant step towards a more humane and just society, one that values redemption over retribution.
[^1]: Harding, C. (1993). The Laws of the Anglo-Saxons. University of Reading.[^2]: Kerrigan, J. (2007). The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime. HarperCollins.
[^3]: Coffey, J.E. (2010). The Life and Times of Henry VIII. Infobase Publishing.
[^4]: Duffy, E. (2009). Fires of Faith: Catholic England Under Mary Tudor. Yale University Press.
[^5]: Gatrell, V.A.C. (1996). The Hanging Tree: Execution and the English People 1770-1868. Oxford University Press.
[^6]: Abbott, G. (2005). Execution: A Guide to the Ultimate Penalty. The History Press.
[^7]: Wiener, M.J. (1990). Reconstructing the Criminal: Culture, Law, and Policy in England, 1830-1914. Cambridge University Press.
[^8]: Ballinger, A. (2000). Dead Woman Walking: Executed Women in England and Wales 1900-1955. Ashgate.
[^9]: Block, B.P., & Hostettler, J. (1997). Hanging in the Balance: A History of the Abolition of Capital Punishment in Britain. Waterside Press.
[^10]: Christoph, J.B. (1962). Capital Punishment and British Politics: The British Movement to Abolish the Death Penalty, 1945-57. University of Chicago Press.
[11]: Seal, L. (2014). Capital Punishment in Twentieth-Century Britain: Audience, Justice, Memory. Routledge.
[^12]: Twitchell, N. (2012). The Politics of the Rope: The Campaign to Abolish Capital Punishment in Britain 1955-1969. Arena Books.
