Capital Punishment in the UK - Hanging (Part One)
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- Опубліковано 19 січ 2021
- Some people support the death penalty and some people oppose it - and that is where most of the arguments remain. However, many people overlook the effect that capital punishment has on those individuals tasked with administering death.
In this powerful documentary video, we meet those individuals - from the prison guard, to the chaplain, the defending barrister, the civil servant, the under-sheriff, the warden and the prison doctor - to name a few. They tell the true-life story of one such execution and how it affected them personally.
The entire documentary is centred around the above-mentioned individuals and shows the eroding effect that delivering death has had on them.
Until 1964, the method of capital punishment in Britain was judicial hanging and whether you support capital punishment or not, I'm sure you will find this documentary quite harrowing.
Please LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE.
This movie captures the atmosphere of what it was really like, when hanging took place in Britain's jails:
Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman (Movie) - amzn.to/30ZkvD5
Albert Pierrepoint was the most infamous of Britain's hangmen and this book was his autobiography:
Executioner Pierrepoint (Book) - amzn.to/3136Xqa
This excellent book tells the many stories of capital punishment in Britain and it also documents every execution that took place in Britain's jails:
The Executioners Bible (Book) - amzn.to/3c1V3mD
(This is Part One of Three)
Thank You for Watching.
How I lost 90 pounds in ten months: www.amazon.co.uk/Takes-Fat-Lo...
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One thing that always puzzled me was that the condemned was buried in an unmarked grave, in the grounds of the prison. Had the condemned not paid his debt to society already? Should the body have been returned to the family of the deceased?
A lot of inmates no longer had family, family might not want to be involved in the inmates death because of reputation. Or family didn't have money for a burial. Sometimes the family had disowned them when convicted.
@@carolineolsenarnold7039 that’s a fair observation but i also agree, the deceased prisoner has payed their debt so surely their family should at least be given the option on burial.
Any idea why a black cloth was put on the judge's head when he passed a death sentence?
@@joeleger6488 its always been tradition for the judge to put a black cloth on his head. Not sure how it started but its been done for hundreds of years. Maybe seeing it done packed an extra punch, or maybe it was for people who didn't speak English.
@MrMods79 Very interesting point, that I didn't know.
Executions in London were carried out at nine in the morning, but everywhere else in Britain they were carried out at eight in the morning.
day light saving time ?
time off for good behaviour!
Working hours. Paperwork and removal of the body would have to assume after 9am when everyone started their jobs.
@@iainclark5964 At least some people have a sense of humour !
So what!?
Thank you for sharing these .....very interesting insight into our capital punishment and very thought provoking.
Thanks for that.
The 2nd episode was the most interesting.
What a brilliant documentary really thought provoking, thank you for posting this first class content Robert.
Thank you. I agree that it really is thought provoking and it affected me in such a way that I decided to share it.
its always important to remember the victims of their crimes.
True, but always important to remember that an execution is also homicide, ergo it was a planned killing and not the result of an accident.
@@michaelmartin9090 no because that only applies to human beings. if someone has committed murder they dont qualify as being human.
They also get a life sentence .
Did the executions bring back any of the victims, or is it more of an animal vengeance kind of deal?
@@docsavage30 It's removing someone from society that isn't worth paying for. We don't want them among us, and why the f should we pay millions to keep them on ice over their lifetimes. It is also a matter of fairness. Why should the murderer get to walk around no matter where, while the victim(s) moulder in the grave. Feeling for people who wouldn't care about you if you didn't fit in their plans, and would even kill you (you have to make assumptions about dangerous animals), the is just stupid.
Great content!!
Glad you liked it.
5:29 this speech is magnificent, bone chilling, evocative
hmp Saughton Edinburgh had it's hanging cell in D hall,it was blocked off on the inside,but you could climb up and look through an outside window,where you could still see the wooden rail,levers and drop hatch,i saw it back in 1998 spooky looking cell,the halls been knocked down now,the graves of hanged prisoners is still there
That's interesting that it's still all there, just hidden away. I was in the Grassmarket in Edinburgh recently and got thinking about how many people were publicly hanged there and all the crowds that would have come to watch.
Bring back public square executions. Explain to children what they did and the price the murderers pay. Just telling them about it doesn’t work anymore than telling them 30 people died in a bus crash in Tibet, they would wonder why you were telling them and where you we’re going by telling them.
“Capital punishment in my view achieved nothing except revenge” Albert Pierpoint.
u cant hear big ben from wandsworth prison esp as the clock is downwind from the wandsworth area
I remember seeing this documentary a few years ago, it's probably the best one on the subject as it's not glamourised and told as it was. For those who believe they could do the job , they would probably change their mind if they had to actually witness the reality. Capital punishment was not a deterrent; if it was then there would be no murders, 90% of those sentenced to death from 1900 to 1964 had their sentenc commuted to life imprisonment.
Thank you for your post. Your explanation is the exact reason why I posted this documentary.
@@RobCLynch I’m from New Zealand. Back in the 1930s we had 3 to 4 murders a year and 3 to 4 executions. That was from a population of about 2.5 million. The death penalty was removed in the 1950s. Our average number of murders is about 50 to 60 currently from a population of 5 million. I would argue with Q’s Stores reasoning the death penalty is not a deterrent. If applied consistently and made mandatory for murder ie. liberal judges don’t get to decide to apply it or not, then I would see it being a perfect deterrent. If there are doubts as to guilt then these doubts need to be resolved quickly and commutation if deserved can the be applied. None of this 10 to 20 years on death row as in the US,
Now, the term "life in prison" means absolutely nothing, around 12 to 23 years, rarely more and even if more than one victim rarely more than forty years. Some killers are released, to kill again. The real whole of life sentence very rarely used.
The real life sentence is served wholly by the victims family and loved ones.
When HMP Leicester, UK was a category A prison there were dogs that patrolled the internal walls. This was where the executed prisoners were buried, up against the internal walls. It was a known fact that the dogs could sense this and refused to walk the walls with their handlers unless they were bribed with treats.
Lastly, if you like this subject matter then read "The Hangman's Tale" by Albert Pierrepoint. A fascinating history of Pierrepoints life as chief executioner for the UK.
"The Hangman's Tale" is actually by Syd Dernley who was Pierrepoint's assistant, although Pierrepoint did write his own autobiography "Executioner Pierrepoint."
I'm Leicester man
Those final hours, whether spent in conversation, or alone with his thoughts must have concentrated the mind of the condemned prisoner in a way that nothing else could. Those who shared his last 3 weeks cannot fail to have been emotionally affected, regardless of their personal standpoint on the death penalty. Not all crimes were committed with malice of forethought. Irrespective of that, however, the hangman's noose was the final destination for all who took another's life. Pierrepoint perfected his role of executioner down to the last second, sparing the prisoner any undue angst. The execution was carried out with military precision and without emotion. Many years ago, I learned the meaning of the phrase 'Ask not for whom the bell tolls - it tolls for thee'. Ultimately the condemned prisoner was a human being, just like you or I. In those final moments he paid his debt to society. Therefore, it is not for us to glamourise or ponder upon the execution but to recognise that a life has ended in payment for another. Sobering words indeed.
@Book Blogger - Thank you for such a comprehensive comment. I too have given much thought about what it would be like to 'know' the time and date of one's demise.
Generally, I think we need to spare a thought for the victims also.
Great comment.
The concept and legal recognition of manslaughter arose after the theft of a cash box in Brighton (sic). The thief fled along the sea front and with pursuers catching up he threw the box over the seafront railing into the sea. Unfortunately the box hit and killed a swimmer. It was recognised that the thief had no intention to kill and he was not hanged.
Further to above: The cash box theft was circa mid-nineteenth century.
Not all murderers were sentenced to death. Pierrepoint himself said people could never agree on who deserved it.
"If that keeps him sweet, let him cheat"......lol
This is the platform of heroes, not the platform of cowards
Fascinating documentary. Does anyone know the prison where these guys worked at/had this experience? Or the case in particular?
Pretty sure Wandsworth was mentioned.
Bristol
Syd Dernley was the assistant at the execution of Timothy Evans at Pentonville, March 1950
Actually there were capital crimes in the UK until 1969. These were High Treason and Setting Fire to Her Majesty's Dockyards. However, nobody was hanged in the UK post 1964.
Those were still on the books until 1999.
I thought Piracy was also included .
@@johnniethepom2905 Piracy with violence was yes. Actually I was wrong about arson in a naval dockyard, the crime itself was abolished in 1971 as it was out of date anyway considering wooden ships hadn't been used for a century, instead damaging naval property is covered as criminal damage.
Since capital punishment was abolished in 1964, 49 people have been wrongly convicted of murder in the UK and subsequently released, several of them women. So if we hadn't abolished the death penalty, 49 innocent people would have gone to the gallows.
In Malaysia and Singapore the death penalty extends as punishment for knowingly giving false evidence, or withholding evidence, in a a capital case. If we had continued with the death penalty but with this condition, a lot of policemen would have had to be executed.
"Several of them women"
What is the relevance of this? To hell with the massive majority of the 49 who were male?
Malaysia Abolished the Death Penalty in 2020
With todays advances in Forensic science. With DNA etc. Not many innocent people would face the death penalty in the UK, if we still had it on the books. Unfortunately it will never return
It was abolished in 1965
@@alexbrown1885 DNA evidence and cadaver dogs indicated that a certain couple in the news in 2007 had at least hidden the corpse of their daughter yet the discoverer of DNA, Alec Jeffreys then stepped forward and stated that DNA evidence was not certain in all cases. With such a legal system we can't have a fair death penalty.
The UK has a long history of capital punishment and unfortunately quite a few innocent people were hanged.
But a lot, lot more guilty people were too. It is unfortunate and horrible but so is a lot of life.
With scientific advances like DNA etc, a acceptable evidence and police proceedures it is unlikely but not impossible that a suspect can be "fitted up" which could well have happened in the sixties and prior to that.
@Jame Retief says someone who will never stand on the scaffold as an innocent man.
I looked back to the turn of the century so in over a 100 years only 2 people were innocent and they were hanged 1 was Tim Evens he was hanged for killing his wife but it was Christy who killed 4 women and the other was Peter Bentley for the shooting of a police officer in Croydon but he had the mental age of 14
I live in the UK and as far everyone knows we dnt have capital punishment such as hanging or anything else for that matter we use to bk in thm days wen I wasn't born but now all we got is prisons and broadmore were the kreys went that's it oh n hanging blocks in prisons if they want to end there life but that's it
The deleterious effects also happen here in the US. A recommended book is “The Last Face You’ll Ever See: The Culture of Death Row” by Ivan Solotaroff. He interviewed the staff of Death Row and the warden at Parchman Farm in Mississippi.
Another book is: “Condemned: Inside The Sing Sing Death House” by Scott Christianson
As i understand and even to this day in the USA if sentanced to death the family have 1st choice on whther the body can be returned or not. If not then the body would be buried within prison grounds. In the USA this still happends. Cemetarys made especially for prisoners, even a funeral service. It wasnt only the law and society that hung people in the uk. In the jails throughout the UK in the late 80s early 90s there was numerous suicides by hanging from 18-21 years olds, 3 in a cell with no toilets etc. Some kids, yes i call them kids just couldnt deal with it, therefore took their own lives.
Does anyone know which case this documentary was about?
Somewhere amongst the many comments, a few possible names of the condemned have been mentioned. The general consensus is that the documentary might be talking about a number of convicts.
The prison warden mentions the prisoner punched the Bullitt proof glass in the visiting room and had to have his hand strapped up. This was Peter Allen, in August 1964
What happened to part 2 ?
Unfortunately all three videos were bumped for copyright issues and I have no idea why 1 and 3 have reappeared.
Imagine how Timothy Evans, Derek Bentley, Ruth Ellis and many others felt in that cell...
Ruth Ellis was guilty.
Life is all memory
The only sure way to safeguard against executing an innocent person is to not have the death penalty. I can understand why there are quite a lot of people in favour of reinstating capital punishment,but we should try longer prison sentences for crimes such as child abuse,rape and certain categories of murder.Let a life sentence mean life.
And apparently, it's cheaper to do issue 'life means life' sentence than it is to spend 30 years in the appeals courts, following a sentence of death.
@@RobCLynch I read somewhere that in Texas,which was the example being looked at,it costs approximately $3 million per year to keep a prisoner on death row,giving that some sit on death row for 20 to 30 years,that's a ridiculous cost.
@@RobCLynch In the UK I think a condemned person had thirty days for an appeal to be successful, after that is an appointment with a noose
Bring back the death penelty
DNA and CCTV takes away any doubt of a crime. Ie if the defendants sperm/dna is found on the body of a small murdered child and can also be put at the scene through witness statements and other pieces of evidence. That’s good enough for me.
If the death penalty was ever reinstated in England, would they still use hanging or something else? (With the judge choosing how the convicted should be executed depending on the violent nature of the case, the murder, and/or the convicted in general)
It would still be death by hanging. Several British prisons still have a gallows lurking in the basements and cellars. Although only one still works, it would take no time at all to motorise the trap door automate the process and you wouldn’t need a hangman/executioner in the process. I wonder if it would be a deterrent ? It would save a fortune but Im not convinced it’s sensible or moral
Narcosis* chamber. Or gas. Quick and fast.
@@drewharry970 Gas is what was used in the Nazi death camps. Took away 6 million. Probably best to stay away from the gas however quick and effective.
@@frazer3191 6 million vs 130 million.. died in the war.. another 35 million from the Spanish flue.
@@frazer3191 it's pressurised oxygen starvation.
Murder used to be rare in the UK, after hanging was abolished because some claimed it was uncivilised murder is common. Don't you it's wonderful to be civilised nowadays when young men murder other young men on the streets of our cities?
I don't think so. No deterrent so no thought to taking a life.
What? Hanging never stopped murder. Capital punishment is no deterrent in the USA.
The very reason to abolish hanging in Britain was because it served as no deterrent and you don't cite a reference for your contention that murders went up which I'd challenge. You might also consider, as this powerful documentary captures, the very hard psychological toll on those that were required to be party to the execution process.
@@alexsaville6237 Innocent people were hanged in Britain like Derek Bentley.
I’d be dead just listening to that judge pass sentence
If you read Syd Dernleys book, he genuinely revels in his role as an executioners assistant. A very unsavoury person indeed.
I don't believe that a normal person could revel in such a role and as such, would argue that Dernley was not a normal person.
Sid's book turned me green on the train to work, even though I worked with human remains of murder victims.
Syd Dernley executed Timothy Evans, who just happened to be innocent
@@seanharrington730 he was assistant. Albert Pierrepoint dropped Evans.
@@alanfrehley1373 yes, know that I've read his book, he comes across as morbid sick individual
Does anyone know who the condemned prisoner was in this part? Obviously either the late 1950's or 60's I believe.
I don’t think they’re all talking about the same person but as the procedure was pretty much the same for all it doesn’t really matter for the purposes of the programme.
I believe the prison officer is talking about Peter Allen, one of the last 2 men executed in UK in 1964, due to his mention of Allen injuring himself the day before his execution and his description of Allen’s general demeanor tallies with others recollections. The asst executioner had long been retired by the 60s and he, the chaplain and judge were involved in more than one execution, so they could be referring to any number of individuals from their own perspectives.
@htershane Thanks for the info I wasn't sure but actually thought all those interviewed were remembering the same case. I cannot begin to imagine how a person under sentence of death knew he had but 3 weeks to live absolutely torturous.
@@UXB-p5u a large number of those reprieved had to spend some time in hospital afterward so id agree with you there.
I think for the time the 3 week thing was the lesser of evils between say an American style death row or asian system where the condemned wouldn’t know when until the day before or less. Time for the prisoners and their families to prepare but not too long.
Although 3 weeks was the standard It was usually longer if they were appealing and roughly a 3rd of people who went to the condemned cell were reprieved so not a total absence of hope which probably helped some get through it.
What an unfortunate name!
I wonder what would happen if the condemned man tried to struggle and even break free from the prison officers just before he was tied up?
That did actually happen in a few cases back during the first decades of the past century.
I’d imagine the condemned wouldn’t get very far with officers chasing them down on foot. Probably tackle him, tie him up then carry him to the gallows by force.
@@RazorRevenge Maybe a last minute head butt to the executioner and his assistant making them incapable of carrying out the execution.
The execution goes ahead. Convicts could be tied to chairs or boards and dropped, or held up by warders who had to be careful not to fall through the trapdoor.
"Tea and Double Muffins after sentencing!" (John Mortimer - Rumpole)
Ironic name
I watched all three parts and it really reveals the humanity of those involved or at least some of them.
The sheriff and the warder obviously deeply distressed.
This has nothing to do whether capital punishment is right or wrong but simply the effect
When I consider what my dad had to do in WW2 being only 23 when it ended he had to kill or be killed and it certainly scared him mentally as we spoke about it.
Dernley seemed a very weird character and I seem to remember he was struck off as he wound up in prison himself.
I get the impression he enjoyed killing.
Rather a tragic character I think.
Syd Dernley was a simple man, not especially well-educated and could be rather unintentionally crude at times. I do not believe he ended up in prison, but he was indeed charged with possessing pornography some time after his tenure as an assistant hangman came to an end.
@@throttlegalsmagazineaustra7361 from all I have read here did 6 months and the fact he had acriminal record meant he automatically got struck off.
@@Steven_Rowe I'm not 100% sure on the sentence, but he was struck off the list long before the charge.
I had a relative who did the same job as Mr Dearnley and felt the same.
Their is nothing unusual in that viewpoint.
Which one is Dernley?
As we consider punishment for capital murder, here's an idea to think about: The guilty person is imprisoned for life - without parole. They are allowed one final visit from their family members - just like with an execution - and that is that. They are kept in solitary confinement and are no longer allowed any contact from the outside and only future legal proceedings can intervene. Therefore, they are removed from society - making us more safe - and they are well and truly punished.
As a side note, the murderer might decide at some point that it would be better to be dead and want to take their own life. Leaving them in possession of a cyanide pill would allow them to do this. Would that remove the guilt factor from the individuals tasked with administering death?
Would that give us the satisfaction of revenge? Would that feel like the ultimate punishment for the criminal?
Would that satisfy the needs of those supporting the death penalty AND those against it?
If we look at the time in the 20th Century when the UK had capital punishment 1900-1964 ( although very few executions from the late 1950s , I believe it is interesting to view that a low year would have been around 8-9 hangings and a high year around 20-25, given the facts that millions of Britons were in the Armed forces during Two World Wars and that Tens of Thousands would have killed enemy soldiers in close quarter combat with bayonets , knives and their bare hands , despite returning home from those traumatic experiences , with broken homes, broken relationships and dead relatives we do not see a major rise in the murder rate I Plus the fact that thousands of illegal weapons , German Lugers, Italian Berettas . Japanese bayonets etc were brought back from WW11 ( so many weapons that during the 1950's 60's and 70's the authorities held regular hand in your war trophies no questions asked ) Of interest, on another You Tube video by British Pathe news from the late 1950's the experts argue that the murder rate had not changed in the 1950's from the early 1930's while the wounding rate have increased a lot ( perhaps missing the point the murder rate had not increased because of the Death penalty ! ) they also mention that in 1957 there were 157 murders and I saw the other day that the latest numbers from 2019 were I believe in the region 671. I will let the viewer decide if that is an acceptable number and if capital punishment would help to reduce the amount of victims and the lifelong pain that brings to their relatives Stay Safe Out There
One problem: you can't put someone in Solitary Confinement indefinitely without a reason justifying it ie: A known terrorist like the Unabomber, Serial killers , known high-ranking members of organized crime organizations, celebrities, former law enforcement agents, prison predators who preyed on other inmates and/or staff--booty bandits, habitual violators of prison rules.
Most of the time, if one is sentenced to Life Without Parole, they're put in General Population. If the inmate doesn't follow the unofficial rules of the prison, the other inmates will deal with him, even do the job the state/nation won't do.
Many people say that they could pull the switch or press the button. Could you?
No.
Yes
Without a doubt or a second thought!!!
Britain is storing some high grade evil in its prisons, so that would be a yes.
Yes l would and could , l would also shoot and pay for the bullet myself, no problem!.
The debate for support or opposition of the death penalty is a fierce one. Does anybody have any suggestions how we could safeguard against executing innocent people? How we could prevent the the act of lawful-killing from affecting the mental health of those individuals tasked to carry such sentences out?
There isn't one.
When we look at cases of where innocent people have been executed; the failings were not in the punishment but often the investigative process, incorrect guidance to the jury, failures in the evidence, prejudice towards the accused that led to a rough-shot process without appeal or impartial review.
Certainly, there are many people for whom a lighter sentance is simply mockery of the judiciary and their crimes are unchallenged. For some people, the structure and opportunities in prison far outweigh the life they lived in 'freedom'. Prison isn't a deterrent nor punishment and often, fails to reform - as seen by figures for reoffending.
Whilst capital punishment should not be common place - the process of the trial and investigation is where special attention needs to be directed rather than the State sanctioned execution of the person. However, if all reasonable measures are taken including a fair review (time limited - not 50 years!) - then the punishment can go forward for heinous crimes.
Now, think of the more imfamous of people who escaped trial or a long prison sentance by committing death by suicide. This robs the court of judicial process, of answered questions and of judgement, yet, we seem to accept these outcomes as convenient or cost saving, never giving the victim a chance to be heard or their story told.
Whilst the innocent should not die by the hands of the state; equally the state should stop protecting the guilty at the expense and pain of innocent victims or their families.
@@SuperParatech A very detailed argument, which highlights the difficulties surrounding the potential of executing innocent people.
I agree that prisons is an outdated 'Victorian' concept that simply doesn't work.
One thing that I am sure we can agree on is that when somebody has murdered another member of society, they lose the right to exist in that society.
@@RobCLynch No Robert that is not something we can all agree on. Killing another person is horrendous, but not all killings are the same. Your grandfather has cancer and is suffering. He asks you to give him something. You give him an overdose of morphine.
You are being physically and emotionally abused by your husband. One night after a bashing, he passes out drunk, you sit there looking at him, and think when he wakes up it will start again so you pick up a knife and stab him several times killing him.
You get drunk and get into a fight and punch someone who falls and strikes their head.
Do you really think all of these people deserve to be removed from society? Yet those three killings are murders.
That is why judges now have so much discretion.
Thank you for that. Also I thought the documentary was excellent.
You can’t hear big ben from wandsworth
They never implied Wandsworth, they used Wandsworth to show you the gallows, it was the last remaining prison to have one and it was removed in 1992.
There would be no prison in London where Hig Ben could be heard.
I think they are trying to show you how formal and punctual it was.
Apparently, in London it was 9am on the dot.
Outside of London, it was 8AM on the dot
Take an eye for an eye ......... eventually everyone ends up blind
That’s silly talk!
The eye for an eye was considered a liberal solution in Judea-Christian law. Most laws back then gave the death penalty for the loss of an eye of a freeman. Do you think we even remotely replicate the terror, pain, and confusion of say a child being raped, tortured, and slowly murdered?
@@jameretief8327 No, but perhaps we should. Child rape and murder would drop like a stone if we did. Perverts would be terrified.
That statement is so dumb and illogical.
@pootle kid It costs £millions to house scum in prison for years on end. With the return of the death penalty this huge bill would be cut dramatically.
is there any way to watch part 2 its seems to be blocked
Unfortunately UA-cam took the whole thing down. However, it is still viewable in other countries, so maybe a VPN
ahh cool, do you know which country, i tried america on a vpn and that didnt work, i'm working on a script at the moment so it would be a big help, cheers @@RobCLynch
Breaking: Virginia has become the first Southern U.S. state to abolish the death penalty after its governor signed into law a bill that ends capital punishment. Thoughts?
Given that Virginia was a slave state, i hope this will set a precedent for all others to follow suit
@@violinistoftaupo why? Capital punishment is great
@@tgm_rka8888 it has been proven over and over again that capital punishment doesn't deter people from committing crime. Life without parole would ensure that murderers are locked up for the rest of their lives and would the same effect as capital punishment.
@@violinistoftaupo a as I know it doesn’t deter crime. But it still is a good punishment for these evil scumbags on this earth. Pedophiles rapists murderers should all be pout to death. I hope capital punishment returns to the uk one day (unlikely)
Can’t be a Republican controlled state.
What I find haunting is that every one of the interviewees are now dead themselves.
Lord Denning is brilliant. Need more judges like him these days!
One of my prized possessions is a letter that I received from the then Master of The Rolls, Tom Denning. Such a character.
Isn't it all quintessentially british and dare I say almost humane
@@garyjones9910 Yes you're probably right and the likes of Pierrepoint believed that he was an out and out professional and master of his trade.
And if the prisoner is innocent?
I really do not know that when so many British men at that time had been military conscripts and had served in the British forces and therefore knew how to kill, that it was that Murderers who premeditatively murdered other human beings like these shown here smiling together were not then murdered themselves by the tough type of British gangster(such as the Krays and the Richardsons etc) who were around here in London and lived during their murderous premeditative ruin. To premeditate a murder is a wholely evil thing to do. Whereas, most criminals who murdered did not do so premeditatedly but from human emotions of spontaneous anger true emotions from the heart which everybody has but whereas most people can handle their emotions many others do through a lack of self-discipline
or from moments of loss of self-discipline such as with gamblers drug addicts and alcoholics were as this type of murder can be forgiven by both man and God however premeditated murder cannot be forgiven by God unless he should ordain it by his commandments and laws which he is most unlikely to do as Jesus said "thou shalt not kill" and " Vengence is mine sayeth the Lord." Therefore if this country should have been run or Guided by God's word a figure that one might say one seeks for answers information and advice from when it comes to such situations of either life or death and indeed the Bible does say that we should seek advice from God for all things that it is wrong to premeditate the word of God or of his will oesr to act in his place and indeed if the "Head Judge" of the "Head court of Justice" in the land should not seek Gods advice and consult with God in such high matters of either Life or Death then this is an unholy realm and is one against God and his commandments and therefore is just as guilty in sin as the criminal is in his crime however the Judge would be more so as he being an ambassador of Gods justice and truth here on Earth and a representative and an arbitrator of what is supposed to be good or evil/ bad. Then he is supposed to know better than to take the life of one of God's creations without God's permission otherwise he represents God not and therefore could only represent God's adversary by doing so who would be the only one who would instruct the judge to break Gods commandments and commit sin by doing so my guess is that when these men die that the devil demon who coached the judge and his associates into committing this murderous sin will have withdrawn from them and left them all to their fates on their knees to be themselves Judged by God for their sins and crimes against Humanity( and there now is a very fair chance because of their apparent age in the video that has already happened by this time ). For isn't a high court judge who is supposed to see that truth justice and the law are all carried out correctly and the same should be said about that vicar too who is supposed to even know better than the Judge he supposedly being even more of one of God's representatives here on Earth? But then that is just my own humble opinion.
Whatever the individual particular circumstance of the crime and however we may individually feel it may have been abhorrent, we are better and greater as a society for having stopped this ritualised killing.
What if it were one of yours that were murdered by a wee shit? I’m sure you’d think differently if that was the case.
Interesting how the judge and executioner both give the just obeying orders excuse. They dont come out of it well.
I agree. The judge struck me as a slobbering pompous oaf and the executioner was on another level.
The guards in the Nazi camps said exactly the same. It's just shifting responsibility away from the individual. Narcissistic behavior
The Judge and Executioner are/were instruments of the state, if you feel they have blood on their hands then so does every member of that state (at least those who do not actively intervene to stop it) up until abolition, everyone involved in a capital case if they knew pursuing it would likely involve a death sentence; police, detectives, witnesses, the juries, victims friends and families etc etc has blood on their hands
Thankfully it’s now history but the fact of the matter is the death penalty had the support of the majority of the population, successive elected governments acted accordingly therefore someone would have to proscrible the punishment as their parliaments decreed. If that was not going to be a judge then who else? The cleaning lady? someone would have to administer the punishment too, again who would you rather someone trained to do it on behalf of the state or some random daily mail reader?🤦♂️
Denning must have been going a bit senile by the time this was made, looks like he nearly passed sentence of death on the Jury instead of the accused. He also missed out the part where the prisoner is returned to "the prison from whence you came." I also thought the wording had been changed by the fifties/sixties to "you will suffer death in the manner prescribed by law" instead of the more gruesome "hanged by the neck until you are dead."
I believe that you are absolutely correct with the change in wording at sentence.
@@RobCLynch It was section 10 of the Homicide Act 1957 which introduced the shorter form of sentence, to the effect that the convicted prisoner shall suffer death in the manner authorised by law. Lord Denning was a High Court judge trying murder cases between 1944 and 1948 and therefore would have used the older and lengthier form of sentence.
@@EddieMitty Denning is fantastic in this, really gets across the gravity of the situation.
Denning was a judge all the way back in the 30s/40s before that change was introduced! He was going on for 100 when this was filmed
Who was the one Hung though ?
The term is Hanged in both past and present tense .
@@johnniethepom2905 it’s just past tense, as the prisoner was hanged and the event is over. Hung means the process is still ongoing like a painting.
There's no denying the impact being with the condemned had on the various officers. Some were close to tears 55 years later.
As for the judge: no comment. He looked and sounded like Churchill's doppelganger.
This documentary came out in about 1994.
It's easy "sentencing" someone to death. It's even easier finding a psychopath "willing" to do it.
Easy to call them "psychopaths" in this day and age, with your privileged lifestyle, free to stand in judgement of others doing a job you disapprove of. Pierrepoint felt his position extremely deeply and worked hard to ensure the condemned suffered no unnecessary angst or pain. He devoted himself to his job as an arm of the law as it stood in those days. I'll wager you do fuck all in that sphere.
@@throttlegalsmagazineaustra7361 👍🏻Well said
5:36 Imagine passing this judgement on another human being?! Very heavy.
You are playing with a person life so you have to add theatrical costumes and wigs for effect?
If death is a deterrent for murder,why do so many kill or attempt to kill themselves?
They kill because they believe the WON'T be caught and therefore executed. Well, about those who attempt kill themselves...what should the law do? ......Sentence them to death for attempted murder??
One aspect of the death penalty is that it requires the cooperation of the condemned.
It certainly did not and does not! Where did you get such a bizarre idea?
@@noonsight2010 Of course it does.
The executioner enters the condemned cell, the miscreant is bound..(without offering any resistance) and is instructed by the executioner to "Follow me", to which he obeys. Thus he is 'cooperating' with his executioner.
Of all executioners who have been interviewed about their 'job'...most of them said that the condemned went to their deaths without protest or resistance due to an acceptance of their fate and a realization that resistance would be futile and only prolong the agony of their predicament.
Albert Pierrepoint documented only one case, where the prisoner resisted violently
So how else could it be interpreted?
But I am interested to hear why you think that it 'certainly did not and does not!'
I don't mean that sarcastically.
I am genuinely interested in your opinion.
Perhaps you can shed some light on the issue that I have missed!!
That judge enjoyed it all a bit too much for me.
I tend to agree. I wouldn't fancy that pompous git passing judgement upon me.
@@RobCLynch yeah a real sadist.
@pootle kid absolutely tragic.
I think the judge has to think of himself as part of the apparatus once he has summed up and given directions to the jury. He has no further freedom in the matter, and effectively he is metaphorically washing his hands. His anxiety was about putting the jury on the wrong track, which I get.
@pootle kid Yes I think that is what this judge (who I later realised was Lord Denning) was saying about his anxiety. If he sums up in a way that misleads the jury he could cause the jury to find an innocent person guilty.
Horrible sordid affair, legalised killing. Execution effects so many people as this program shows.
Certain criminals deserve death, killing them is a moral good
Yeah murder effects so many people too !!
It affected some people not others.
Compare the murder rate in the US with its death penalty against the murder rates of most European countries which don't execute. What does that tell you?
Nothing of note
Sorry, but that is a terrible example. You do realise there are other countries that use the death penality? Japan and Singapore have vastly less crime than US and most European countries.
Isn't it more a case of how you are brought up and the moral compass that you have?
An eye for an eye leaves us all blind but I do agree that serial rapists and paedophiles should be put down but when it comes to murder theirs so many things you have to take into account
There are different degrees of murder certainly, and some are more egregious than others depending on the motive and other circumstances. In India I think they have it right. They don't execute every murderer, only the 'worst of the worst' and they introduced the concept of 'residual doubt' whereby any case that exeeded the threshold of being guilty beyond reasonable doubt but fell short of absolute certainty is not eligable for the death penalty.
They most recently hanged some of the murderers who raped and disembowled a woman on a bus, she identified them all before she died in agony days later. There was no doubt they were guilty, and the crime they committed was evil beyond redemption. There was no good reason why people who are 100% guilty and who have murdered someone with particular cruelty and malice shouldn't hang.
Follow me lad , It 'll be alright .
Why was it in the big ben
Lynch - that’s a funny name regarding the topic!
@@Frederik_Berlin Yes it's a terrible irony lol.
R C LYNCH WHAT A PERFECTLY APT NAME
Needs bringing back.
Capital punishment was a deterent, but how many innocents were hung , you couldnt trust the system as two barristers battled it out scoring points off each other perhaps the better spoken barrister won at the cost of an innocent mans or womans life. Today we give a life sentence that are a farsical 12 years and your out, murder should mean life imprisonment. Even then can you trust the system ?
Capital punishment failed as a deterrent as soon as the next capital crime was committed after the introduction of the death penalty! Most executioners who remarked on the matter expressed the opinion that capital punishment was merely revenge and that it served no meaningful purpose. Add to that the fact that murderers are the least likely criminals to re-offend and your remark is risible.
No convict had ever been "hung", pictures are hung. Convicts were/are "hanged".
There was a case in 1961 where a ringleader of a gang who was about 21 years old was hanged for a group attack on a man in a London park who subsequently died. On the day of his hanging a close friend was on his way to commit an armed robbery in which a security guard was shot dead by him. That person was subsequently convicted and sentenced to death. He was hanged on the same gallows as his mate a few months earlier. It clearly didn't deter everyone.
No recidivism. Got absolute proof give them the absolute penalty.
The law did not require absolute proof, the law merely required the jury to be convinced beyond reasonable doubt, which tragically turned out to be wrong sometimes.
@@joehart7260 that’s an argument for a better Court system not removing the death penalty
@@admiralkipper4540 Can you think of a better court system than a jury, which has been copied extensively by other nations and dates back to Saxon England?
@@joehart7260 perhaps not, either way the death penalty is still a good idea
@@admiralkipper4540 Not for the victims of a miscarriage of justice it isn't.
Instead of giving a child abuser or murderer an easy time in jail bring back the death penalty asap
There is nothing easy about being in prison for the rest of your life.
@@violinistoftaupo and also no reason to waste money keeping filth alive
@@admiralkipper4540 Frankly I prefer to save the money it costs to execute someone. It costs far more to execute than to keep them in prison for life. Perhaps you would be happy to make up the difference?
@@brontewcat a rope doesn’t cost much
@@admiralkipper4540 In fact the cost of keeping someone on death row in the US cost far more than keeping someone in prison .Death rows are very expensive to maintain, and cost far more to keep someone on death row than in the general population. I think it something like 100,000 per year in the US.
If someone is sentenced to death they have the right of appeal, and they end up on death row for years. This is true not just in the US, but in virtually every other country that has specialised death rows such as Japan.
But even countries that keep those who have been sentenced to death in the general population, there are still years and years of costly appeals. Given the number of people who have been found to be innocent on death row you cannot abolish the appeals process.So you end up paying up more to execute someone than to sentence them to life.
Also the actual mechanics of execution, as described here, are very expensive. It’s not simply the cost of the executioners and their device, it’s also the others who support the execution- the prison officers, the Chaplain, political staff - you think of the opportunity costs that are incurred for all of these staff, who are involved in the execution and not doing other work they could be doing.
Hanging should be brought back for henious crimes never mind feeling sorry for the murders or child rapist and murderers. All paedos that destroy a child no excuses now as DNA does not lie or make mistakes like many years ago.
Well said ! Lots of bleeding heart liberals on here ,if their family members were killed they would be singing from a different hymn sheet.
If you think that then you would quite happily pull the lever yourself then? Or would you leave it to someone else? Either way you would still have blood on your hands. Capital Punishment is a "Polite" way of saying State Murder. Because that's all it is.
And for the victims wrongly executed...?
Actually, the more DNA testing has progressed, the greater the realization that it is not as reliable as first believed. Where do you get such false information?
I am so glad they abolished the death penalty in the UK.
Life is cheap now in the UK. shoul be a minimum of 50yrs no parole not these 12-15yrs sentences, the train robbers got double that !!
@@tfureyify I agree. Whilst I oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and without exception, prison sentences are too short these days.
Anyone know who that person was who was hanged
I'm wondering if it was one of the two last people to hang in Britain. Apparently they were told that they wouldn't hang and not to worry, as the death penalty was soon to be abolished. One of the two did smash the glass at his final family visit - but I'm not totally sure. A bit of detective work required.
I reckon it must be Peter Allen. Radio Caroline started in 1964 and there were only two executions in 1964, Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans for the murder of the Workington laundry driver. Allen was the only one who had a wife and kids.
Ruth Ellis
" I had no feelings about taking a man's life "..... tells you everything you need to know. Wow how very sad.
This MUST make a return to the UK
Not with that noose it wasn't!
That judge is fucken BARKING.............
And imagine having that pompous ass pass sentence of death upon you? Not that he had much choice. But his demeanor adds to the whole experience.
bring back the death penalty
No hope too many do guders
Referendum on it. Let the public decide.
If this offence was committed in France, it is called a crime of passion. When will humanity wake up, and try to understand the real power of love. R.I.P Ruthy..X
Crime of passion, you need to wake up! It was murder and nothing less. You either hang someone for murder or not. Not find excuses for them. If your son was on the receiving end would you say such things, I doubt it. Most murders are crimes of passion and by someone you know! You clearly have not thought about things. Anyway France sent a lot of their murderers to South America.
Evans was a tragic case of course which was the fault of another arm of the judiciary not the executioners or assistants but it doesn't alter the fact that many of those people who took innocent lives deserved to answer to a higher authority, and guys like him helped them on their way. As for any unrelated charges, well if proven then he deserved his own punishment of course, but nevertheless, if we hadn't had people willing to execute killers then that would send out the wrong signals. As far as I'm concerned, it is still a great pity that the death penalty had been put on hold at the time of Brady and Hindley's conviction.
bring back hanging my Grandad teached me how to tie the hangermans knot in the early 1970s So you need look no further than me for a new hangerman
You've been watching too many cowboy movies, the noose used here was a simple loop formed with a spliced end.
Did he teach you to use 13 coils......
There was no hangman knot, the rope went through a meta; eyelet
There were no hangmans knots in the uk.
The rope was made of hemp and at one end was a brass eyelet and this attacked to a hook with a chain that could be adjusted for the drop.
The noose end had a similar eyelet that the rope passed through to form the noose.
This noose end was covered with kid leather.
The Ropes were made by John Eddington or Old Kent Road Bermondsey and they were trading until 1967, thry still made ropes for export to Commonwealth countries.
This type of noose would be more efficient as the rope passed through a friction free eyelet.
Lamby: A deterrent puts somebody off an action. Capital punishment never served to prevent murder.As such, it is YOU who does not know what a deterrent is. This subject is not one for fools and ignorant people to troll with absurd and offensive comments.
Judge not.
Oh dear what a shame, never mind. The effect it has on those involved; i don`t really care, if some fear they might be traumatised by being involved in the execution let them be excused from it and ask for volunteers. i`m fed up with murders being let free after a few years while the families of those murdered live a life sentence of sadness and grief.
It should be brought back especially for child killers.
"Servant of the law" 🙄 He meant to say, I was Nothing more than a murderer for the state. Thank goodness we in the UK saw fit to abandon the heinous crime that is Capitol Punishment❗️Unlike our Barbarian cousins in the USA❗️Using violence to somehow stop violence is an exercise in futility.
@@wodens-hitman1552 Er...actually NO.....Murder by the state is NEVER right, no matter what the circumstances. I feel very sorry for you. Your sense of "REVENGE" will destroy your life. The people of the UK voted against capitol punishment, for two reasons, A) To use violence by the state, to somehow stop violence is completely absurd. B) The police are so corrupt right across Europe today, anyone murdered by the state, NO one could ever feel completely at ease with their verdict. Too many innocent people are already dead, murdered by the state, they wont be coming back❗😫
I am British and i think that capital punishment should never been abolished they should bring back hanging and the birch and in the schools bring back corporal punishment as well as national service and borstal as for all the shit that is going on in the world right now it would help getting rid of some of the shit that is happening
Can I ask if you would have hanged Barry George? He was convicted of murder, that conviction was beyond reasonable doubt as that is the only standard we have and he later lost an appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Then there are the cases of Angela Cannings, Donna Anthony and Sally Clarke. All convicted, beyond reasonable doubt, of murdering babies and who deserves to be hanged more than people who murder children? Now, seeing as they were tried, convicted beyond reasonable doubt and lost appeals, would you have hanged them?
I think that deals with the system in place and its ability to get things wrong. That is unless you can show me a way that we can be 100% right 100% of the time. If you can't please tell me your acceptable failure rate and what we would do with anyone who's lies help convict an innocent person. That includes Police officers, would they then be hanged for telling lies that got another person killed? You may be prepared to accept a small number of innocent people being hanged but, I bet you wouldn't accept if it was one of yours....
National Service, sounds great until you consider that we hardly have enough housing for the troops that we have so where would we put all these young people for 2 or 3 years? Would you be willing to pay for that housing to be built and maintained and for all the kit needed to equip these people for that time? Then you would need to increase the size of the standing Armed Forces as we would need more instructors, more medics, more safeguarding measures and everything needed to ensure that bullying and violence does not take place. Would you be willing to increase your taxes to supply everything needed.
What would we do with people that had a criminal conviction? People who want to join up often are rejected because of a conviction and now you seem to be suggesting that they will be admitted, isn't that a bit odd?
Then there's the big one, what do we do when faced with a conscript who simply refuses to obey an order, fill him or her in? You could suggest locking them up away from home but, isn't that what national service does to them anyway and would society accept their children being force - physically - to obey? We could put them in a proper prison - after convicting them in a court of course - putting a strain on the courts and prison services not to mention the damage we do by having all these people with criminal convictions and the long term effect on employability.
Like you, I'm British. I joined up of my own free will and I think capital punishment and National Service are dreadful idea. The idea of "it'll sort them out" sounds great until you look at what we, as a society would have to pay and accept do actually do it.
It’s better safe then sorry. If someone was innocent, or guilty death is not an answer
@@ohidontknow1061 Yeah, a lot of the 'hang-them-and-flog-them' brigade think that National Service was there as a sort of militarised borstal to put unruly kids in place. It was actually there because after Indian Independence in 1947, the Indian army was suddenly not available to the British government, and they still needed soldiers mostly to police the de-colonization process, as well as to man their side of the Iron Curtain as the Cold War started to build up and have troops ready if war started with Soviet Russia.
And it'd cost the taxpayer a fortune compared to what the death penalty would cost.
3:00 there is that evil person, Denning. The Judge who said, it would have been better to hang innocent people than have the courts admit to errors.
Then there was the judge who when sentencing people to death was knocking one out.
@@adenwellsmith6908 Simply out, in the UK, common law stated that I cannot harm you, nor can I steal from you. That's why hundreds of years ago, minors could be hanged for stealing food (despite them starving). I believe that the authorities had to keep the rabble down and the ultimate penalty was seen as a deterrent. The judge symbolises the wealthy for me and that it was more important to keep a lid on proceedings, even if that meant the occasional innocent person was executed. It's my opinion only, but to me, it's a rich controlling the poor thing.
The rope was a superb deterent .and should be bought back .for rapists .child molesters etc
I completely agree, with scientific advances in forensics the chances that someone is wrongly convicted and sentenced to death is basically none.
So why were there and why are there murders with capital punishment in place? You silly, silly individual.
@@noonsight2010 Clearly you don't know what deterrent means.
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