Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Bill (Hansard, 15 June 1965)

§ Mr. Hiley

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I beg to present a Humble Petition from the League for Justice and Liberty against the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Bill. It is significant that I should do so on this day, 15th June, 1965, with its interesting and historic connections.

The League for Justice and Liberty has treated this as a sample of the opinions of the people, principally in the north of England, in Lancashire, the West Riding of Yorkshire, Sunderland and Durham. I think it is very significant indeed that there are no less than 6,000 signatures in this pile from the constituency of Nelson and Colne and no less than 17,000 from the constituency of Bootle. The Petition proceeds: Whereas justice has been administered in the British nation since the days of King 214 Alfred the Great in accordance with the Biblical principles of just retribution in punishment for proven offences and of individual personal responsibility for wrongdoing; And whereas penalties should be imposed not only to protect society or to rehabilitate the convicted criminal but in the first place to restore the violated moral and legal order of God's Universe by giving the convicted criminal his just deserts; And whereas the Word of God plainly teaches in both the Old and the New Testaments that Her Majesty's Government has received from God Himself the authority to wield the power of the sword of justice in the execution of convicted murderers and that the Government may, therefore, resort to its fundamental prerogative of inflicting the death penalty in cases of murder most foul; And whereas crimes of violence against the persons of Her Majesty's loyal and law-abiding subjects have greatly increased since the days of King George the Fifth.… Wherefore your Petitioners pray that the death penalty be retained in cases of murder with malice aforethought, and that Justice with mercy be done, and seen to be done fairly, moderately and persistently throughout the land. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. There are 50,000 signatures, Mr. Speaker.