Clause 1. — (Abolition of Death Penalty for Murder.)

Part of Orders of the Day — Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 13 July 1965.

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As we are asked to include this word "life", we have the right to know what it means and to ask the Home Secretary to tell us in the greatest possible detail what in practice a life sentence is to mean to a prisoner sentenced for murder. What assistance is he to have from his legal advisers and the court? Will they be allowed to plead in mitigation for him in open court? When is the sentence first to be reviewed by the Home Secretary himself? Who is to advise the Home Secretary on whether a man is safe to be let out having been given a life sentence, a sentence which at the moment is utterly meaningless?