CONFIDENTIAL
15. The numbers of reprieves and executions between 1954 and 1965 were
as follows
2
4
1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1935
Reprieves 10 15 26 18
Executions 15 12
5 1
3
2
1
2
3
18
6
3
73
2
2
These figures show that a reprieve was granted in every case considered during the specific periods when amending legislation was before Parliament but the reprieve was in no case automatic; in every instance a full submission was made to the Home Secretary setting out the circumstances of the offence and suggesting reasons for commuting the death sentence other
than the current Parliamentary discussion.
The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
16. Capital punishment has been abolished in Guernsey but not in Jersey or the Isle of Man. The main procedural difference between the exercise of the Prerogative in these two Islands and in the Dependent Territories is that whereas the Governor of a Dependent Territory has a delegated authority from The Queen in capital cases, the Lieutenant Governors of the Islands do not. It is the responsibility of the Island authorities concerned, through the Lieutenant Government, formally to refer such cases to the Home Secretary and it is his responsibility to advise The Queen. In an Isle of Man case, in accordance with a memorandum of procedure in capital cases which was agreed in 1931 with the then Lieutenant Governor, the Home Secretary would give full weight to the views expressed by the Insular Authorities and in the event of any difference of view, would consult them before reaching a final decision, but there could be no question, in either the Isle of Man or Jersey, of the Home Secretary intervening in the non-exercise of the Prerogative since it is he alone who can exercise it.
17. Every capital case in Jersey and the Isle of Man is referred to the Home Secretary and considered individually, taking into account the particular circumstances of the case as well as the relevant public considerations. Among the latter are that no execution for murder has taken place in Jersey since 1959 and in the Isle of Man since 1872. The last occasion on which a sentence of death for murder was passed in Jersey
8
CONFIDENTIAL
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