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Public Opinion on the Death Penalty

The labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has come under fire recently following accusations of working for free to defend inmates on death row to escape execution. 

The death penalty, which was abolished in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, is a controversial topic which gives rise to fierce debate. However, discussions about the cause of the abolishment of the death penalty in the United Kingdom are not as common.

There is an widespread view that the public changing their opinion over time led to the abolishment of the death penalty. However, polls at the time of the abolishment of the death penalty in the United Kingdom reveal that the British public wanted the death penalty to be retained.

Although results of polls have varied over the years, a recent YouGov poll has revealed that 62% of respondents believe the government were right to make an exception, and to allow two ISIS terrorists to be prosecuted somewhere they may receive the death penalty.

As high profile miscarriages of justice have shown over the years there is always a risk that new evidence can come to light in years to come which cast doubts on the guilt of an accused person.

I suspect there will remain a substantial block of the population who will continue to support the death penalty in the UK going forward. What impact this view will have on politics more widely remains to be seen.