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Lukewarm Support for Death Penalty in Britain
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many Britons believe capital punishment should not be considered as an option for specific crimes, according to a poll by Ipsos-MORI. 51 per cent of respondents favour life in prison or a long sentence for murder in a terrorist attack, while 46 per cent would choose the death penalty.
The percentage of respondents who support execution is lower for other instances, ranging from 43 per cent for the murder of a child, to three per cent for mercy killing. Support for capital punishment did not top 50 per cent in any of the 10 scenarios outlined in the survey.
Britain began a five-year moratorium on all death penalties from criminal convictions in 1965, and made the suspension permanent in 1969. Attempts to abolish the death penalty in Britain have been made since at least 1808, but each initiative was stalled at various stages of the legislative process. That said, even by 1861, there were only four civilian crimes—murder, treason, arson in royal dockyards, and piracy with violence—that were punishable by death.
Execution for any of five military offences—including "Serious Misconduct in Action" and "Obstructing Operations or Giving False Air Signals"—was repealed in 1998, though the last instance of its invocation occurred in 1942.
Polling Data
I am going to read out a list of various crimes and I would like you to tell me what you think the sentence should be for each one. Should it be the death penalty, a life prison sentence, a long prison sentence, a short prison sentence, or should it be none of these? Firstly for .
Death | Life | Long | Short | |
Murder in a terrorist attack | 46% | 38% | 13% | -- |
Murder of a child | 43% | 43% | 11% | -- |
Murder of a police officer on duty | 38% | 43% | 16% | -- |
Murder committed in prison while | 34% | 42% | 14% | 2% |
Serious sexual abuse of a child | 27% | 42% | 28% | -- |
Murder of an adult stranger | 23% | 50% | 24% | 1% |
Kidnap of a child | 9% | 29% | 54% | 6% |
Serious sexual abuse of an adult stranger | 7% | 34% | 53% | 3% |
Murder of a spouse in a fit of rage | 7% | 23% | 49% | 13% |
Mercy killing / Euthanasia | 3% | 6% | 7% | 33% |
Source: Ipsos-MORI
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,001 British adults, conducted from Jan. 12 to Jan. 17, 2006. No margin of error was provided.
