HC Deb 23 June 1988 vol 135 cc681-3W
Sir Nicholas Fairbairn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted in England and Wales of homicide since the abolition of the death penalty for murder.

Mr. John Patten

The number of persons convicted in England and Wales of homicide is published annually in table S2.1(A) of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables Volume 2", copies of which are in the Library; the figures for 1966–86 are given in the following table. The corresponding figure for 1987 is not yet available. The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 came into operation on 9 November 1965.

Persons convicted of homicide1 in England and Wales
Year Convicted
1966 254
1967 238
1968 260
1969 254
1970 301
1971 307
1972 312
1973 339
1974 381
1975 377
1976 396
1977 344
1978 334
1979 422
1980 447
1981 388
1982 459
1983 389
1984 403
1985 441
1986 431
1 Homicide comprises murder, manslaughter and infanticide.

Sir Nicholas Fairbairn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons convicted of homicide in England and Wales and released on licence or termination of sentence have been convicted of homicide again since the abolition of the death penalty for murder.

Mr. John Patten

Thirty-eight persons convicted of homicide in England and Wales and released on licence or termination of sentence have been convicted again of homicide since the abolition of the death penalty for murder. Of those, 15 committed their first offence of homicide before abolition.

Figures for 1966–87 are shown in the following table:

Persons convicted of homicide1 in England and Wales and released on licence or termination of sentence and convicted of homicide1 again
Year of second offence Number of persons
1966 1
1967
1968
1969
1970 2
1971 1
1972
1973 2
1974 2
1975 3
1976 3
1977 3

Year of second offence Number of persons
1978 1
1979 2
1980
1981 4
1982 2
1983 4
1984 3
1985 1
1986 3
21987 1
1 Homicide comprises murder, manslaughter and infanticide.
2 Provisional.