CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 18 June 1932, Page 2

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Opposing u proposed amendment to the Children and Young Persons Bill that the age at which the death sentence ! could be pronouitcod should be raised ! from 28 to 21 years, Sir 11. Samuel, Home Secretary, said that the law was that a person of 16 found 'guilty of mur. dor must be sentenced to death, but for nearly half a century no one had been 1 executed under the age of 18. As matters now stood, all the solemn ceremony of condemnation to death on youths of 17 or 18 had to be gone through when all the world knew that they would be reprieved on grounds of youth alone, apart from any other circumstance. The question arose where was the line to be drawn ! Hie matter was considered carefully, by the Departmental Commit- | tee on whose report the bill was founded and they came nem. con. to the recommendation that the ago should be 18. A young man of 19 or 20 might have characteristics that made him a danger to society, id any gross crimes had been committed in the past few years in different parts of the world by students and some very grave crimes of the motor-bandit type have been committed by young men who were reckless and ruthless and who did not hesitate to use firearms if necessary. Thev knew that in the prisons there were young men of 19 or 20 with nothing at all mentally! wrong with them, hut much that was morally wrong. If one of that class were | l*i commit a crime of great atrocity, such i as the ouLrage on a little girl in London not long ago, or if a shocking assass- ! ination was committed by a young man of 20, he doubted very much if public opinion would approve of the law not applying to this man while it would apply to a person committing a similar crime who had passed his 21st birthday. In these circumstances the Government considered that the amendment could not be accepted. The amendment was negatived by 145 votes to 32.