TNAG-0601-FCO40-749-Capital-punishment-in-Dependent-Territories-1977 — Page 60

1

Flag G

CONFIDENTIAL

-2-

that there has been a gross miscarriage of justice (see para. 7

below).

3. While Hamilton telegram No 60 summarised the main points

considered by the Advisory Committee in forming their recommenda-

tion, the documents which the Committee had before them during

their consideration are available if the Secretary of State wishes

to consult them. They are detailed and bulky and the Private

Secretary is holding them as a separate volume.

4. The Secretary of State also asked to see the Hansard

references to discussion in the House of Commons on the abolition

of the death penalty in Britain. The Department is arranging

for the appropriate Hansard volumes to be brought up.

Meanwhile

I attach a summary of the proceedings from Keesings Contemporary

Archives. It appears that Sir Richard Sharples did not intervene

in any of the debates. But he consistently voted on each

occasion in favour of retaining the death penalty.

5.

The following is a brief account of how capital punishment

was discussed in the House. The second reading debate of Mr

Sydney Silverman's bill, to abolish capital punishment, was

on 21 December 1964 (Hansard, volume 704: columns 870-1010). The third reading debate was on 13-14 July, 1965 (Hansard,

volume 716: columns 358-462). Substantive debates on the

subject also took place on 5 March 1965 when the House carried

a motion to transfer the Bill from the Standing Committee to a

Committee of the whole House (Hansard 706: columns 1701-1812)

and on 26 May 1965 when an amendment was accepted limiting the

CONFIDENTIAL

/effectiveness

Page 60Page 61