United Kingdom
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 abolished...
- News items in the archive
- 423
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
United Kingdom is classified as Abolitionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 423 news items on United Kingdom, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- NOVEMBER 2, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The Cardiff mother of a young girl indecently assaulted...
The Cardiff mother of a young girl indecently assaulted by rapist Jonathan Richards told the Echo she wishes he had been given the death penalty
- NOVEMBER 1, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A jury at the Old Bailey, London's main criminal court,...
A jury at the Old Bailey, London's main criminal court, was given a graphic description of life inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan by an alleged plane hijacker
- OCTOBER 30, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Yasser al-Sirri, an Egyptian living in London, was...
Yasser al-Sirri, an Egyptian living in London, was charged with conspiring to murder the leader of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance, Ahmed Shah Masood
- OCTOBER 25, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A Briton faces the death penalty in Thailand after...
A Briton faces the death penalty in Thailand after being accused of involvement in a heroin-smuggling ring
- OCTOBER 23, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A man wanted by Egypt for attempting to kill a former...
A man wanted by Egypt for attempting to kill a former prime minister was arrested by British police on suspicion of terrorism-related activities
- OCTOBER 22, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The right-wing think tank Politeia predicted that terrorist...
The right-wing think tank Politeia predicted that terrorist suspects will use provisions in the new Human Rights Act to avoid extradition
- OCTOBER 16, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Even Osama bin Laden should not be extradited to face...
Even Osama bin Laden should not be extradited to face the death penalty, according to Plaid Cymru MP Simon Thomas
- OCTOBER 9, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
British Prime Minister Tony Blair all but ruled out...
British Prime Minister Tony Blair all but ruled out the prospect of bin Laden's being captured and tried in America
- OCTOBER 8, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Three Tory MPs resigned from the far-right Monday Club...
Three Tory MPs resigned from the far-right Monday Club at the request of new leader Iain Duncan Smith
- OCTOBER 8, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
British journalist Yvonne Ridley, who was arrested...
British journalist Yvonne Ridley, who was arrested by the Taleban after illegally entering the country on September 28, was released
- OCTOBER 8, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw warned the Taliban...
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw warned the Taliban that the UK will hold them responsible for the safety of British journalist Yvonne Ridley
- OCTOBER 7, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Prime Minister Tony Blair ordered an urgent overhaul...
Prime Minister Tony Blair ordered an urgent overhaul of Britain's extradition laws in the war on terrorism
- OCTOBER 7, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Wanted terrorists extradited to the United States under...
Wanted terrorists extradited to the United States under new "fast track" procedures will not face the death penalty for their role in the 11 September massacre
- OCTOBER 7, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Terrorists who mastermind atrocities in Britain against...
Terrorists who mastermind atrocities in Britain against the United States could be extradited to face the death penalty there
- OCTOBER 7, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The Conservative leader, Iain Duncan Smith, urged that...
The Conservative leader, Iain Duncan Smith, urged that emergency anti-terror laws should include the power to send suspected terrorists back to countries such as the United States and India even though they might face the death penalty
- OCTOBER 4, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A female British journalist arrested by the Taliban...
A female British journalist arrested by the Taliban for illegally entering Afghanistan will face trial for "violating the laws" the country, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, the leader of the London-based...
Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, the leader of the London-based fundamentalist Islamic group Al-Muhajiroun, which claims to have recruited thousands of British Muslims to fight "holy wars" abroad, said President Musharraf of Pakistan had, under Islamic law, be
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
September 19; 2001: Chancellor Gerhard Schroder ruled...
September 19; 2001: Chancellor Gerhard Schroder ruled out any "adventures", amid reports that America was asking for Germany's participation in a daring mission to free eight Western aid workers imprisoned in Afghanistan
- SEPTEMBER 13, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Iain Duncan Smith was elected leader of the Conservative...
Iain Duncan Smith was elected leader of the Conservative Party, after getting the backing of 61% of the vote in the first ever leadership contest decided by party members
- SEPTEMBER 10, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The British government is preparing to launch a legal...
The British government is preparing to launch a legal challenge against America over its use of the death penalty
- SEPTEMBER 5, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The British Humanist Association, the National Secular...
The British Humanist Association, the National Secular Society and the Rationalist Press Association expressed their concern at the death sentence passed in Pakistan on Dr Younus Shaikh, lecturer, peace activist and founder of the progressive group Enligh
- SEPTEMBER 4, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Lawyer Clive Stafford Smith was presented with an honorary...
Lawyer Clive Stafford Smith was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Law at the University of Wolverhampton for his 20-year campaign against the death penalty in the US
- SEPTEMBER 3, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Mohamed Aly Abbas, a Turkish national suspected of...
Mohamed Aly Abbas, a Turkish national suspected of killing Briton Edgar Fernandes was extradited from Malta to Turkey
- AUGUST 7, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Woolf,...
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Woolf, in an unprecedented visit by the most senior judge in Britain to the People's Republic, attended the Celebration of Sino-Legal Exchange, organised by the British Council and the Chinese Ministry of
- JULY 13, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A sick internet game which awards points and prizes...
A sick internet game which awards points and prizes for predicting who will die next on Death Row is attracting thousands of contestants, the Scottish Daily Record reported
- JULY 13, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The British Embassy in Russia said it "welcomes and...
The British Embassy in Russia said it "welcomes and fully approves" President Vladimir Putin's view that the execution of death sentences on the territory of Russia is unacceptable
- JUNE 5, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Malaysia's Court of Appeal has freed a Briton sentenced...
Malaysia's Court of Appeal has freed a Briton sentenced to death for drug trafficking after ruling there were "too many contradictions and inconsistencies" in his case
- MAY 24, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The British National Party pledged support to the death...
The British National Party pledged support to the death penalty
- MAY 13, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The family of a man hanged 49 years ago for a murder...
The family of a man hanged 49 years ago for a murder he did not commit received £1
- MAY 9, 2001United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
According to a poll conducted by The Express support...
According to a poll conducted by The Express support for capital punishment is slipping