Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965

The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It abolished the death penalty for murder in Great Britain (the death penalty for murder survived in Northern Ireland until 1973). The act replaced the penalty of death with a mandatory sentence of imprisonment for life.

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Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965[1]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to abolish capital punishment in the case of persons convicted in Great Britain of murder or convicted of murder or a corresponding offence by court-martial and, in connection therewith, to make further provision for the punishment of persons so convicted.
Citation	1965 c. 71
Introduced by	Sydney Silverman
Territorial extent	England and Wales and Scotland
Dates
Royal assent	8 November 1965
Commencement	9 November 1965[2]
Other legislation
Amended by	Criminal Justice Act 1967, Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973, Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1974, Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975, Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, Criminal Justice Act 2003, Armed Forces Act 2006
Relates to	Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973.
Status: Amended
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended