Capital punishment in the United Kingdom Capital punishment in the United Kingdom Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and took place in 1964, prior to :capital punishment being abolished for murder (in 1965 in Great Britain and in 1973 in Northern Ireland). Although unused, the death penalty remained a legally defined punishment for certain offences such as treason until it was completely abolished in 1998. In 2004 the 13th Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights became binding on the United Kingdom,
Treason Act 1415 5 st.2 c.7, extended the jurisdiction to try this category of treason to all justices in the realm, instead of just the select few known as the King's justices. The Coin Act 1575 also abolished (for coin clipping only) the penalties of corruption of blood and forfeiture of goods and lands. Treason Act 1415 The Treason Act 1415 (3 Hen. 5 st.2 c.6) was an Act of the Parliament of England which made clipping coins high treason, punishable by death. (It was already treason to counterfeit coins.) The Act was repealed by the Treason Act 1553, and then revived again