What were the driving forces that caused capital punishment to fall out of favour with the general public after it had been commonplace for centuries? Ultimately leading to UK's last execution (1964) and Australia's (1967).

by [deleted]
Second_Mate

In Britain the main factors were the final three executions, as well as the persistent fear that an innocent might be executed by mistake through an unsatisfactory conviction. James Hanratty, for example, would probably have been cleared, as would Derek Bentley and Ruth Ellis.