REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
| Date | 01 January 1954 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1954.tb02146.x |
| Published date | 01 January 1954 |
REPORTS
OF
COMMITTEES
REPORT
OF
THE
ROYAL
COMMISSION
ON
CAPITAL
PUNISHMENT,
1949-
1953,
Cmd.
8932,
September
1953
The Origin
of
the Commission and its Terms
of
Reference
This Commission was set up in
1949
as a result of the contro-
versy over the abolition of capital punishment and the alternative
of dividing murder into several degrees, only the most serious
of
which would carry the capital penalty. When the House of Lords
rejected both these proposals, the Labour Government decided
to appoint a Royal Commission, consisting of twelve members,’
with Sir Ernest Gowers as chairman, charged with the duty of
investigating
“
whether liability under the criminal law in Great
Britain to suffer capital punishment for murder should be limited
or
modified, and
if
so,
to what extent and by what means.” They
were also asked to inquire into the length and nature of the deten-
tion which should apply
to
persons who, but for their proposals,
would have suffered capital punishment.
At
a
later stage, and at
the request
of
the Prime Minister, they agreed to consider whether
any change should be made in the method of executioc. In the
discharge of these duties they were specifically requested to inves-
tigate the position in other countries insofar as it might throw
light on these questions.
Interpretation
of
the Task
The Commission were debarred by their terms of reference from
considering the: question of the abolition of capital punishment, but
in the course of their investigations they naturally accumulated
a
good deal of information which is just as relevant to this issue
as
to the question of limiting the scope of capital punishment, and
they very wisely decided not to endeavour to separate this evidence
or
“
to draw nice distinctions in this field.” The result is that the
report contains a great deal of material bearing on the major issue,
which will prove extremely valuable when the matter is next
debated in Parliament. One of the longest of the numerous
appendices is devoted to a discussion of
“
The Deterrent Value of
Capital Punishment.”
It
is evident from the report, which extends to over
500
pages
(including the index), of which some
200
pages consist of statistical
tables and diagrams and other useful appendices, that the Com-
mission have spared no effort in the discharge of what they rightly
1
Because of the resignation of Earl Peel
in
November,
1950,
only eleven
57
persons have signed
the
report.
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