The Capital Punishment Debate 1979: A Review
| Author | David Burnham |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201838004400209 |
| Published date | 01 May 1980 |
| Date | 01 May 1980 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
THE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
DEBATE 1979: A REVIEW
Lord
Carr
of
Hadley
David
Burnham
During 1979 we all witnessed what could be called a new turn in
political terror as practiced in these islands. The tragic death of Airey
Neave in March, murdered within the precincts
of
Parliament itself,
produced universal horror. The callous murder of Earl Mountbatten
in September engendered disbelief. The future, we can only surmise,
holds more horrors in store for us. Terrorism now seems to have
become an established part of the political scene in most western
countries and nothing could be more abhorrent to a free and demo-
cratic society.
At the same time public concern about violence in our streets, at
sporting events, even in some homes has reached such a level that many
voters saw law and order as one of the half dozen or so major issues
of the May election. The Conservative Party made sure that Law and
Order was a priority in its election manifesto and Mrs Thatcher's
government has since awarded the police a generous salary increase
and promised tougher measures to deal with young offenders.
Thus the mood
of
the country, the particular terrorist killings of
last year and the return of a government committed to the maintenance
of order and effective treatment of offenders, all suggested that, for the
first time since its effective abolition in 1965 the return of capital
punishment was a real possibility.
On the last two occasions when capital punishment was debated in
Parliament in 1974 and 1975 there were substantial majorities of 152
and 129 respectively against restoration.
It
looked as if the result might
be substantially different in 1979. Observers felt that many of the 73
new Tory M.P's would be swayed by a combination of the strength of
opinion they had encountered in the election campaign and the Prime
Minister's own belief that in some cases capital punishment is a regrett-
able but necessary and appropriate measure. lt was also felt that the
III
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