Hanging as a legal method of execution was effectively abolished for murder in the UK in 1965, and completely abolished for all remaining offences (like treason and piracy with violence) in 1998.

Key dates in the UK

  • 13 August 1964: The last executions by hanging in the UK took place, when Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans were hanged for murder.
  • 1965: The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act suspended the death penalty for murder in Great Britain; this became permanent in 1969.
  • 1973: Capital punishment for murder was ended in Northern Ireland, bringing it into line with Great Britain.
  • 1998: The death penalty for the last capital offences (high treason and piracy with violence under military or older laws) was abolished, making the UK fully abolitionist in law.

Public vs total abolition

  • Public hangings ended earlier: the Capital Punishment (Amendment) Act 1868 required executions to be carried out inside prisons, ending public executions by hanging.
  • After 1868, hangings continued in private until the mid‑20th century, with steadily fewer executions as legal reforms and public opinion shifted against capital punishment.

Today and current debate

  • Today, the UK cannot reintroduce hanging without breaking its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the 13th Protocol, which abolishes the death penalty in all circumstances.
  • There are still occasional political or media debates about “bringing back hanging,” but these are discussions only; there is no legal death penalty in any part of the UK now.

Quick HTML table of milestones

[3][5] [1][5] [5][1][9] [1][9] [9][1]
Year Change relating to hanging
1868 Public hanging ended; executions moved inside prisons.
1964 Last hangings carried out in the UK (Allen and Evans).
1965–1969 Death penalty for murder suspended, then permanently abolished in Great Britain.
1973 Death penalty for murder abolished in Northern Ireland.
1998 Death penalty abolished for all remaining offences (treason, piracy with violence etc.).
**TL;DR:** Hanging stopped being used after 1964 and was abolished in law for murder in the mid‑1960s, with final legal abolition for every offence in 1998.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.