1. If you could bring
back the death
penalty would
1. Is it a good form of
punishment?
you?
2. Should it be used in the
UK?
3. What crimes should it be
used for? Why?

2. Opinion polls suggest that half the population of
Britain would like to reintroduce the death
penalty for murderers

3. Capital Punishment – the death
penalty
Lesson objectives:
•To identify the aims of punishment
•To examine the use of capital punishment and why it
was abolished in the UK
•To evaluate the arguments for and against the death
penalty

4. Exam link
Identify 3 reasons why the death
penalty was abolished in the UK
(6marks)
Present a case for and against
reintroducing death penalty in the UK
(12marks)

5. What are the aims of punishment?
• The theory of Protection
• The theory of Retribution
• The Theory of Deterrence
• The Theory of Reform
• The Theory of Reparation
Which ones do the death penalty apply to?

6. Amnesty International
Although 130 countries in the world no longer use the death
penalty, 45 countries still retain it. Amnesty International is
working towards the abolition of the death penalty
worldwide because it undermines some basic and absolute
rights
Jeremy Irons - Amnesty International & The Death Penalty
Answer the following questions while watching the clip:
2. Why might people support the death penalty?
3. What arguments does he give against the death penalty?
4. Which basic rights does the death penalty undermine?
5. What does he mean by the phrase ‘inalienable’?
6. In what ways can the death penalty be a form of torture?

7. Draw two columns in your book – FOR and AGAINST
Choose the 3 best arguments for each side from below and write them into your
columns. The statements below are all mixed up!
Capital punishment may make the convicted terrorists Terrorists who indiscriminately (not caring who
into martyrs (makes them heroes to other terrorists) they are) kill people should be hanged
The law condemns murder and then goes on to It deters (puts off) potential murderers
murder in the name of the law
It does not necessarily deter (stop) someone from It has been around since the beginning of time,
committing a crime so why abolish it now?
The death penalty is inhumane It protects civilians and police
Society turns the executioner into a murderer It shows society’s total hatred of murder
In the past the wrong person has been hanged A so-called life sentence is not punishment
enough
In a lot of murders the murderer knew the victim well Some “lifers” are back on the streets in a few
(family rows, loss of temper) years
It does not allow you to reform (change them) the
criminal The law should be based on “An eye for an eye,
a tooth for a tooth”
All life is sacred (special) – what right has society to Revenge is a natural human emotion
judge that a person’s life should end?
The death penalty is murder Capital punishment helps the victim’s family to
get over their loss

8. British woman on death row
Linda Carty was born on the
Commonwealth island of St
Kitts. She's awaiting
execution in Texas: if she's
killed, she'll be the first
British woman to be
executed since Ruth Ellis,
over 50 years ago.

9. Linda was convicted of capital murder in
Does she deserve to be 2002 after it was alleged she was the
on death row? mastermind behind a horrific crime. In
May 2001, a criminal gang broke into the
home of Linda's neighbours and abducted
a young mother and her three-day-old
baby boy.
The next day the baby was found alive in
one of Linda's cars, but his mother was
found dead in another - she had been
suffocated.
Linda has always denied any involvement in the crime, but testimony from the
gang and circumstantial evidence found at the scene led to her arrest.
At her trial, Linda was represented by one of the State's capital defence
attorneys, who's had over 20 of his clients end up on Death Row. It's claimed
his poor defence of Linda helped lead to her conviction.

10. A history of capital punishment in the
UK
In the 18th Century you could be hanged in Britain for
over 200 offences.
In 1957 the British government ruled that only certain
types of murder were punishable by hanging.
In 1965 capital punishment was suspended for a 5 year
trial.
In 1970 is was permanently abolished accept for
treason and piracy with violence.
Under a House of Lords amendment to the Crime and
Disorder Act 1998 the death penalty was abolished for
treason and piracy with violence