Capital punishment in Europe rights became a particular priority. The Kingdom of Italy had abolished the death penalty for civilians with the adoption of the Zanardelli Penal Code of 1889, but the Fascists had reintroduced it with the 1930 Penal Code. The European Convention on Human Rights was adopted in 1950, but some countries took many years to ratify it. The United Kingdom retained the death penalty for high treason until 1998; however, this technicality was superseded by the absolute ban on the death penalty in 1976. William Joyce was the last person to be put to death for high treason in the UK,
Treason Act 1800 It further provided that nothing in the Treason Act 1695 or the Treason Act 1708 was to extend to any indictment for high treason consisting of compassing or imagining the death of the King, or for misprision of such treason, which alleged any of the overt acts specified above. It further provided that nothing contained in the Act was to be construed to affect the penalty for treason fixed by law. The provisions of the Act were amended and extended to all cases of treason and misprision of treason by section 1 of the Treason Act 1945; subject to a