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Royal Commission on Capital Punishment 1949–1953

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government in an attempt to defuse the long-term political debate over capital punishment. The Royal Warrant establishing the commission (dated 4 May 1949) instructed their inquiry to assume the retention of the death penalty. In their report, the Commission described their own task as "trying to
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In order to determine which cases of homicide ought to receive the death penalty, the commissioners sought to devise a classification of murder in terms of degrees of severity. However, their conclusion from that attempt was that "the object of our quest is chimerical... and must be abandoned".
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GCB, GBE. Gowers was profoundly affected by the evidence presented to the commission and said later that what he learned as chairman of the commission converted him from vague support of capital punishment to strong opposition.
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should be "abrogated" and the jury should be left "to determine whether at the time of the act the accused was suffering from disease of the mind (or mental deficiency) to such a degree that he ought not be held responsible."
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reviewed the application of death penalty in the United Kingdom, including the questions of what crimes should receive the death penalty and what method of execution should be employed. The commission was set up by the
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rules that mental disease caused a lack of volitional control even if defendant knew the nature and quality of her act and that it was wrong. Its report said
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that a person is legally insane if a mental disease prevents their knowledge of the nature or quality of their criminal act or that the act is wrong, and
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The thirteen commissioners met 63 times in total, holding their first meeting on 27 May 1949. Its Chairman was Sir
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find some practical half-way house between the present scope of the death penalty and its abolition"
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This article related to the history of the United Kingdom or its predecessor states is a
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It also made recommendations responding to criticism of rules for the
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Royal Commission on Capital Punishment: Evidence and Papers
152: 299: 28:Royal Commission on Capital Punishment 1949–1953 89: 87: 85: 21:Royal Commission on Capital Punishment 1864–66 282: 82: 147: 289: 275: 93: 308:Capital punishment in the United Kingdom 100:Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 300: 235: 192: 190: 188: 122:. The National Archives. 1949–1953. 13: 198:Criminal Law - Cases and Materials 171:10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjc.a046447 159:The British Journal of Criminology 126: 14: 324: 215:Wolters Kluwer Law & Business 185: 246: 240: 141: 110: 1: 132:"Without the Death Penalty", 94:Wingersky, Melvin F. (1954). 75: 313:United Kingdom history stubs 261:. You can help Knowledge by 7: 10: 329: 234: 18: 135:Times Literary Supplement 154:"The Penalty for Murder" 19:Not to be confused with 16:British royal commission 138:, 2 March 1956, p. 137 59:. It responded to the 65:irresistible impulse 201:, (7th ed. 2012). 149:Blom-Cooper, Louis 270: 269: 223:978-1-4548-0698-1 320: 291: 284: 277: 252: 251: 250: 244: 236: 226: 194: 183: 182: 156: 151:(1 April 1973). 145: 139: 130: 124: 123: 114: 108: 107: 91: 53:insanity defense 328: 327: 323: 322: 321: 319: 318: 317: 298: 297: 296: 295: 245: 239: 232: 230: 229: 207:Robert Weisberg 195: 186: 146: 142: 131: 127: 116: 115: 111: 92: 83: 78: 24: 17: 12: 11: 5: 326: 316: 315: 310: 294: 293: 286: 279: 271: 268: 267: 254: 228: 227: 184: 165:(2): 188–190. 140: 125: 109: 80: 79: 77: 74: 61:M'Naghten rule 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 325: 314: 311: 309: 306: 305: 303: 292: 287: 285: 280: 278: 273: 272: 266: 264: 260: 255: 249: 243: 238: 237: 233: 224: 220: 216: 212: 211:Guyora Binder 208: 204: 200: 199: 193: 191: 189: 180: 176: 172: 168: 164: 160: 155: 150: 144: 137: 136: 129: 121: 120: 113: 106:(6): 695–715. 105: 101: 97: 90: 88: 86: 81: 73: 70: 66: 62: 58: 57:criminal case 54: 49: 45: 42: 41:Ernest Gowers 37: 34: 29: 22: 263:expanding it 256: 253:   231: 213:. New York: 197: 162: 158: 143: 133: 128: 118: 112: 103: 99: 68: 50: 46: 38: 27: 25: 203:John Kaplan 302:Categories 76:References 69:M'Naughten 179:0007-0955 221:  177:  33:Attlee 55:in a 259:stub 219:ISBN 175:ISSN 26:The 167:doi 304:: 217:. 209:; 205:; 187:^ 173:. 163:13 161:. 157:. 104:44 102:. 98:. 84:^ 290:e 283:t 276:v 265:. 225:, 181:. 169:: 23:.

Index

Royal Commission on Capital Punishment 1864–66
Attlee
Ernest Gowers
insanity defense
criminal case
M'Naghten rule
irresistible impulse



"Royal Commission on Capital Punishment (1949-1953): A Review"
Royal Commission on Capital Punishment: Evidence and Papers
Times Literary Supplement
Blom-Cooper, Louis
"The Penalty for Murder"
doi
10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjc.a046447
ISSN
0007-0955



Criminal Law - Cases and Materials
John Kaplan
Robert Weisberg
Guyora Binder
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business
ISBN
978-1-4548-0698-1
Flag of United Kingdom

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