Royal Commission on Capital Punishment 1864-1866
Encyclopedia
The Royal Commission on Capital Punishment was chaired by the Duke of Richmond. It worked from 1864 to 1866 and was in disagreement on abolition.
The Royal Commission on Capital Punishment was chaired by the Duke of Richmond. It worked from 1864 to 1866 and was in disagreement on abolition.
The Royal Commission on Capital Punishment was chaired by the Duke of Richmond. It worked from 1864 to 1866 and was in disagreement on abolition.
The Commission was appointed by Queen Victoria on the 8 July 1864.
Secretary to the Commission: James Henry Patteson
Pall Mall Gazette
, Tuesday, December 26, 1865; Issue 275, page 6: "Capital Punishment".
In their Report, they included a section summarising the response to the following questions:
The verbatim evidence occupies 471 pages of the Report; there then follows an Appendix of 195 pages and an index to the Appendix. The Appendix contains answers to questions sent by the Commission to foreign countries and to Her Majesty's judges &c.
Sent by the Foreign office to France, Belgium, Holland, Prussia, Bavaria, Austria, Saxony, Hanover, Italy, Tuscany, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Nassau, Anhalt, Oldenberg, Brunswick, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, Maine and Rhode Island, Columbia, Indiana, Venezuela, Wisconsin, Ecuador, the Australian colonies, Scotland, Ireland together with responses from various judges and legal persons and statistical tables, together with, lastly, draft legislation on infanticide, prepared by Mr. Justice Willes.
A declaration, drafted by Stephen Lushington, was included in the Report: "[We] . . . are not prepared to agree to the Resolution respecting private executions." Signed by Stephen Lushington, Wm Ewart, Charles Neate, J Moncreiff, John Bright. This is presumably because they strongly favoured abolition.
William Ewart, Stephen Lushington, John Bright and Charles Neate signed a declaration drafted by Ewart: "[we]. . . are of opinion that Capital Punishment might, safely, and with advantage to the community, be at once abolished."
O'Hagan made a longer declaration: "I am of opinion,—with much deference for the great authority of those who think otherwise,—that the weight of evidence and reason is in favour of the abolition of Capital Punishment.
"I should, therefore, sign the declaration prepared by Mr. Ewart, but that I doubt whether public opinion in this country is yet ripe for the acceptance of such a change; and if it should be accomplished, without the sufficient sanction of that opinion, I fear the reaction which might follow on the perpetration of some great crime. I think, also, that the substitution of a minor penalty would render essential serious modifications in the discipline and machinery of our prisons; and such modifications, whilst I believe them to be possible, may be difficult, and remain to be devised. On these grounds, having regard to the practical scope of Your Majesty's Commission, I cannot join in simply advising immediate abolition; but, so far qualifying my adhesion to the terms of the declaration, I am prepared to adopt the principle which it embodies."
Appointment
The Government agreed to a Royal Commission on 3 May 1864The Royal Commission on Capital Punishment was chaired by the Duke of Richmond. It worked from 1864 to 1866 and was in disagreement on abolition.
Appointment
The Government agreed to a Royal Commission on 3 May 1864The Royal Commission on Capital Punishment was chaired by the Duke of Richmond. It worked from 1864 to 1866 and was in disagreement on abolition.
Appointment
The Government agreed to a Royal Commission on 3 May 1864 William Ewart's Commons resolution requesting a Select Committee be appointed to consider Punishment of Death, Resolution withdrawn and Charles Neate's resolution requesting a Royal Commission accepted: Hansard HC Deb 3 May 1864 vol 174 cc2055-115The Commission was appointed by Queen Victoria on the 8 July 1864.
The task
". . . to inquire into the Provisions and Operation of the Laws now in force in the United Kingdom, under and by virtue of which the Punishment of Death may be inflicted upon persons convicted of certain crimes, and also into the manner in which Capital Sentences are carried into execution, and to report whether any, and if any what alteration is desirable in such Laws, or any of them, or in the manner in which such sentences are carried into execution."Commissioners
- Duke of RichmondCharles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of RichmondCharles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox, and 1st Duke of Gordon KG PC , styled Lord Settrington until 1819 and Earl of March between 1819 and 1860, was a British Conservative politician.-Background and education:Born at Richmond House, London, he was the son of Charles...
(Chairman) - Edward Henry Smith StanleyEdward Stanley, 15th Earl of DerbyEdward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby KG, PC, FRS , known as Lord Stanley from 1844 to 1869, was a British statesman...
, then known as Lord Stanley and late as the 15th Earl of Derby - Stephen LushingtonStephen Lushington (judge)Stephen Lushington was a Doctor of Civil Law, a judge, a Member of Parliament and a radical for the abolition of slavery and capital punishment.-Early life and education:...
, judge - John Taylor ColeridgeJohn Taylor ColeridgeSir John Taylor Coleridge was an English judge, the second son of Captain James Coleridge and nephew of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.-Life:...
, judge - Thomas O'HaganThomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'HaganThomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan KP, PC, QC , was an Irish lawyer and judge. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1868 to 1874 and again from 1880 to 1881.-Background and education:...
, Lord Chancellor of Ireland - James MoncrieffJames Moncreiff, 1st Baron MoncreiffJames Moncreiff, 1st Baron Moncreiff FRSE , was a Scottish lawyer and politician.The son of Sir James Wellwood Moncreiff, 9th Baronet, a Scottish judge, he was educated at Edinburgh University and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1833.He was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland in...
, Lord AdvocateLord AdvocateHer Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament...
for Scotland - Horatio Waddington, Under Secretary of State for the Home Department Notice of retirement of Horatio Waddington, in The Times, Friday, Aug 16, 1867; pg. 7; Issue 25891; col C Notice of funeral of Horatio Waddington, in The Times, Wednesday, Oct 09, 1867; pg. 9; Issue 25937; col B: (News Shorts)
- John BrightJohn BrightJohn Bright , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy...
, MP - William Ewart, MP
- Gathorne Hardy, MP
- George Ward HuntGeorge Ward HuntGeorge Ward Hunt was a British Conservative Party politician and statesman, Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Lord of the Admiralty in 1st and 2nd ministries of Benjamin Disraeli.-Background:...
, MP - Charles Neate, MP ODNB article by A. C. Howe, ‘Neate, Charles (1806–1879)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 29 Dec 2009
Secretary to the Commission: James Henry Patteson
Report
The Report of the Commission was published in December 1865.Pall Mall Gazette
Pall Mall Gazette
The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, Tuesday, December 26, 1865; Issue 275, page 6: "Capital Punishment".
Bibliographical reference
Great Britain. Royal Commission on Capital Punishment (1864--66)- Royal Commission on Capital Punishment together with the minutes of evidence and appendix. London, 1866. (Parliamentary Papers. Session 1866. vol. 21) The initiating editor of this article is extremely grateful to Harvard University and GoogleBooks for making this report available online.
Witnesses
- The Hon. George Denman Q.C., M.P. George Denman: see ODNB article by William Carr, ‘Denman, George (1819–1896)’, rev. Hugh Mooney, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 30 Dec 2009
- Lieut-Colonel E. W. Y. Henderson Col. Henderson: Convict service, western Australia
- Mr. Thomas Kittle Thomas Kittle: Policeman
- Mr. Richard Tanner Richard Tanner: Policeman
- Sir Fitzroy KellyFitzroy KellySir Fitzroy Edward Kelly PC, KC , was an English commercial lawyer, Tory politician and judge.-Background and education:...
, M.P. - The Rev. John Davis, M.A. John Davis: Ordinary of Newgate
- Mr. William Tallack William Tallack: Hon. Secretary of the Society for the Abolition of the Punishment of Death see ODNB article by Bill Forsythe, ‘Tallack, William (1831–1908)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 30 Dec 2009. His correspondence is at the University of Syracuse Library and further notebooks and papers at the University of Warwick, Modern Records Centre, Coventry.
- Lord HobartVere Henry Hobart, Lord HobartVere Henry Hobart, Lord Hobart was a British peer and colonial administrator.Hobart was born on 8 December 1818 at Welbourne, Lincolnshire to Augustus Edward Hobart-Hampden, 6th Earl of Buckinghamshire and Mary Williams. In 1840, he graduated from Trinity College, Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts...
- The Right Hon. Sir George GreySir George Grey, 2nd BaronetSir George Grey, 2nd Baronet, PC was a British Whig politician. He held office under four Prime Ministers, Lord Melbourne, Lord John Russell, Lord Aberdeen, and Lord Palmerston, and notably served three times as Home Secretary.-Background and education:Grey was the only son of Sir George Grey, 1st...
, Bart. (Home Secretary) - Hilary Nicholas Nissen, Esq. Hilary Nicholas Nissen: Former Sheriff of the City of London
- Henry Avory, Esq. Henry Avory: Clerk of Arraigns at the Central Criminal Court
- Leone LeviLeone LeviLeone Levi was an English jurist and statistician.Born to a Jewish family in Ancona, Italy, he worked in commerce there before emigrating to Liverpool in 1844. There he obtained British citizenship and joined the Presbyterian church....
, Esq. - James Fitzjames StephenJames Fitzjames StephenSir James Fitzjames Stephen, 1st Baronet was an English lawyer, judge and writer. He was created 1st Baronet Stephen by Queen Victoria.-Early life:...
, Esq. - The Hon. Sir James S. Willes, one of the Justices of Her Majesty's Court of Common Pleas
- The Rev. John Jessop, M.A. John Jessop: Chaplain of Horsemonger Lane Gaol
- Mr. Thomas Beggs Thomas Beggs: Hon. Secretary of the Society for the Abolition of the Punishment of Death
- Thomas Harrington Tuke, Esq. Thomas Harrington Tuke: Member of the Association of Medical Officers of asylums
- John Humffreys Parry, Serjeant at-Law, with a Patent of Precedence J.H.Parry: see ODNB article by J. A. Hamilton, ‘Parry, John Humffreys (1816–1880)’, rev. H. C. G. Matthew, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 30 Dec 2009
- Henry Cartwright, Esq. Henry Cartwright: Governor of Gloucester Prison
- The Right Hon. Sir Lawrence Peel
- William Charles Hood, Esq., M.D. Dr. Hood: Visitor in Lunacy
- The Right Hon. James A. Lawson James A. Lawson: Attorney General for Ireland see ODNBarticle by G. C. Boase, ‘Lawson, James Anthony (1817–1887)’, rev. Sinéad Agnew, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 30 Dec 2009
- Mr. William Morrish William Morrish: Governor of Portland Prison
- Monsieur Emile Chedieu Emile Chedieu: French barrister
- The Rev. Lord Sydney Godolphin Osborne S.G. Osborne: see ODNB article by Thomas Seccombe, ‘Osborne, Lord Sydney Godolphin (1808–1889)’, rev. Mark Clement, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 30 Dec 2009
- George YoungGeorge Young (MP)George Young was a Scottish Liberal MP in the British Parliament and a Judge, with the judicial title of Lord Young....
, Esq, (Solicitor General for Scotland) - Colonel Henry Stace Former Governor of Oxford Gaol
- The Rev. William Cook Osborne Rev. W.C. Cook: Chaplain at Bath Gaol
- Sir Walter F. Crofton, C. B. ODNB article by Lawrence Goldman, ‘Crofton, Sir Walter Frederick (1815–1897)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 30 Dec 2009. He was a prison administrator and penal reformer.
- Monsieur Visschers Auguste Visschers: Belgian lawyer. He chaired the International Peace CongressInternational Peace CongressInternational Peace Congress, or International Congress of the Friends of Peace, was the name of a series of international meetings of representatives from peace societies from throughout the world held in various places in Europe from 1843 to 1853...
in Brussels in 1848. - Sir Mordaunt Wells Sir Mordaunt Wells: Former judge in Bengal
Evidence
The Commission took evidence on 15 days, between 29 November 1864 and 25 March 1865, dealing with three or four witnesses a day.In their Report, they included a section summarising the response to the following questions:
- Deterrent Effect Of The Punishment Of Death
- The Nature Of Capital Punishment; its difference from all other punishments in its Irrevocability, &c.
- Evidence as to Whether Juries Show a Reluctance To Convict In Capital Cases
- Evidence as to the Home Office
- Evidence upon Infanticide
- Evidence as to the Propriety of giving Power to Jurors to bring in Verdicts of "Guilty of Murder" with "Extenuating Circumstances" in certain cases
- Evidence on Restoring to the Judges the Power of Recording Sentence of Death
- Evidence as to Allowing Appeals in Capital Cases
- Evidence as to whether Executions should be Public or Private
- Evidence as to what Secondary Punishment should be inflicted in the event of the Abolition of the Punishment Of Death
The verbatim evidence occupies 471 pages of the Report; there then follows an Appendix of 195 pages and an index to the Appendix. The Appendix contains answers to questions sent by the Commission to foreign countries and to Her Majesty's judges &c.
Appendix
The Questions:- 1. What crimes, if any, are now punishable with death by the law of . . . . . ?
- 2. When a person is found guilty of a capital offence, is there any power in the jury, or the court, to reduce the punishment below that of death by finding attenuating circumstances ? If so, is this power frequently exercised?
- 3. What is the most severe punishment next to that of death by the law of . . . . ? and in cases where the sentence of death is reduced by the finding of attenuating circumstances, or commuted by the government to such lesser punishment, is the latter invariably carried out in full ? If not, to what extent is it mitigated ?
- 4. Have there been any changes of late years in the law of . . . . . by which certain crimes formerly capital have ceased to be so ? If so, have these crimes increased, and is their increase, if any, attributed to the diminution of the punishment ?
- 5. In what manner is the sentence of death executed, and does the execution take place in public or private ?
- 6. In what proportion of capital convictions is the punishment of death usually reduced by the clemency of the Head of the State to some minor infliction?
Sent by the Foreign office to France, Belgium, Holland, Prussia, Bavaria, Austria, Saxony, Hanover, Italy, Tuscany, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Nassau, Anhalt, Oldenberg, Brunswick, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, Maine and Rhode Island, Columbia, Indiana, Venezuela, Wisconsin, Ecuador, the Australian colonies, Scotland, Ireland together with responses from various judges and legal persons and statistical tables, together with, lastly, draft legislation on infanticide, prepared by Mr. Justice Willes.
Recommendations
The Commission did not come to agreement on abolition. On most matters, it offered a range of options for legislation. The exception was unanimity of the need for a law to stop public executions and to regulate executions within prisons.A declaration, drafted by Stephen Lushington, was included in the Report: "[We] . . . are not prepared to agree to the Resolution respecting private executions." Signed by Stephen Lushington, Wm Ewart, Charles Neate, J Moncreiff, John Bright. This is presumably because they strongly favoured abolition.
William Ewart, Stephen Lushington, John Bright and Charles Neate signed a declaration drafted by Ewart: "[we]. . . are of opinion that Capital Punishment might, safely, and with advantage to the community, be at once abolished."
O'Hagan made a longer declaration: "I am of opinion,—with much deference for the great authority of those who think otherwise,—that the weight of evidence and reason is in favour of the abolition of Capital Punishment.
"I should, therefore, sign the declaration prepared by Mr. Ewart, but that I doubt whether public opinion in this country is yet ripe for the acceptance of such a change; and if it should be accomplished, without the sufficient sanction of that opinion, I fear the reaction which might follow on the perpetration of some great crime. I think, also, that the substitution of a minor penalty would render essential serious modifications in the discipline and machinery of our prisons; and such modifications, whilst I believe them to be possible, may be difficult, and remain to be devised. On these grounds, having regard to the practical scope of Your Majesty's Commission, I cannot join in simply advising immediate abolition; but, so far qualifying my adhesion to the terms of the declaration, I am prepared to adopt the principle which it embodies."