---
title: "Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965"
id: 6ce28705-0d82-414d-829d-cb88ebd4ddbb
authority: uk
place: "United Kingdom"
applies_also_from: []
kind: statute
in_force: true
publisher_url: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1965/71
attribution: "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
solon_url: https://solon.orangecat.ch/law/6ce28705-0d82-414d-829d-cb88ebd4ddbb
language: en
in_force_from: 2009-10-31
date_basis: publisher
status: consolidated
source_url: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1965/71/data.xml
read_on: 2026-11-08
sha256: 2581317078fe4b08a2cb26987a7982aa64e8ba5c106ffc0de914d3a489cefabd
provisions: 6
---

# Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965

## Title and introductory text {#prelims}

Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965
1965 c.71
An Act to abolish capital punishment in the case of persons convicted in Great Britain of murder or convicted of murder or a corresponding offence by court-martial and, in connection therewith, to make further provision for the punishment of persons so convicted.
[8th November 1965]

## 1 Abolition of death penalty for murder. {#section-1}

(1) No person shall suffer death for murder, and a person convicted of murder shall . . . be sentenced to imprisonment for life.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) For the purpose of any proceedings on or subsequent to a person’s trial on a charge of capital murder, that charge and any plea or finding of guilty of capital murder shall be treated as being or having been a charge, or a plea or finding of guilty, of murder only; and if at the commencement of this Act a person is under sentence of death for murder, the sentence shall have effect as a sentence of imprisonment for life.
(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

## 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . {#section-2}



## 3 Short title, repeal, extent and commencement. {#section-3}

(1) This Act may be cited as the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) This Act ... shall not extend to Northern Ireland.
(4) This Act shall come into force on the day following that on which it is passed.

## 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . {#section-4}



## SCHEDULE {#schedule}

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .