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8 How. J. 1 (1949-1953)

handle is hein.journals/hjcj8 and id is 1 raw text is: 









VOL. VIII-No.   1


jonN HowAR.D, 1726-1790


     THE HOWARD JOURNAL

           The Official Organ of the Howard League for Penal Reform





                              EDITORIAL

                                Page                                    Page
The Royal Commission on Capital          Prison for Care and Protection    6
  Punishment .. .. ..1
                                         The Howard   League's Place in
The Justices of the Peace Act      3       British Democracy  ..    ..     6
Scotland : The Control Group ..    5

    THE   ROYAL   COMMISSION ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT has met twice
monthly since the beginning of August. It has, up to the time of writing, heard
evidence from officials of the Home Office and the Scottish Office, and a number of
prison governors, chaplains, medical officers and  other ranks  of the prison service;
from the Commissioner  of Metropolitan Police, representatives of Chief Constables
and  Superintendents, and of the Police Federation; from the Director of Public
Prosecutions; from the Secretaries of the After-Care Associations; from the Lord
Chief Justice, Lord Justice Denning, Mr. Justice Humphreys and Mr. Justice Byrne.
The Howard  League  is due to give evidence in February and on a second occasion
in the  summer.   Lord  Templewood   is called as an ex-Home  Secretary later.
The Commission  is precluded by its terms of reference from considering abolition and
is required to report only as to desirability of limitation or modification of the law
relating to capital punishment for the civil crime of murder.

    WHITEHALL UNITED. It received little help from Whitehall. All officials
of the Home  Office and the Prison Service have, with marvellous unanimity, found
nothing wrong with capital punishment, nor with the English method of hanging,
nor with the Home  Office administration of reprieves. The Chaplains thought all
the arrangements humane and the law of the death penalty in accordance with the
Christian ethic, though the Senior Chaplain thought some who were hanged would
have made good in life. The medical officers had no criticism to make on the matter
of the application of modem  scientific knowledge in the treatment of murderers.
The After-Care officials assured the Commission that practically all the reprieved
murderers made good, but they apparently were satisfied that those who were hanged


1949-50

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