 starter activity

1. starter activity Crowds outside Wandsworth gaol receiving news of Bentley’s execution in 1953

2. starter activity ‘The Idle Prentice Executed at Tyburn’ (1747) by Hogarth how about public attitudes toward capital punishment? Describe the picture or source here.

3. Read about the Bentley case & listen to the song about his execution by E.Costello. How far have attitudes changed between the 2 periods?  What factors drove these changes?

4. Key words: How did attitudes towards the death penalty change?  Learning objectives To gain an overview of changing attitudes towards capital punishment To identify and evaluate events & factors which led to changes

5.  Your task • Watch the clips from the BBC ‘Timeshift’ documentary, ‘The Story of Capital Punishment’ and answer the questions provided. • Pay particular attention to the views of historians

6.  Your task • Read the extract from Vic Gattrell’s book, ‘The Hanging Tree’ (1996) and take note of the following: • According to Gatrell, what characteristics do many of those publically hanged share? • How do figures for public hangings in England compare with foreign counterparts? • What explains the ‘revolution’ (Gatrell) in public attitudes to hanging?

7.  Your task Divide your page in two. Gather evidence from Cumming, p. 74-5 showing that it was public attitudes on one side and that it was law makers on the other which led to the ending of capital punishment in Britain. Visit the Learning Curve website and gather further evidence for your arguments

8. This house believes that is was changes in public attitudes more than government actions that led to the abolition of capital punishment in the UK

9.  Extension task • Read Gatrell, ‘The Hanging Tree’ p.591-595 and note the attitudes of the following to capital punishment: • Victorian writers such as Dickens, Thackeray & Carlyle • Clerics such as Revd Clay • Politicians such as Home Sec. Hardy & J.S.Mill • Why does Gatrell think the Victorians eventually banned public hangings?

10.  Essay • “How important were individuals in changing attitudes towards prisons and punishments between 1830 and 1965?” • Factors: • Individuals • Government • Social-economic factors • Public attitudes • Media • Draw a spider diagram and note sources of evidence you could use for your enquiry

11. Key words: ?  Plenary How did attitudes towards the death penalty change?  Learning objectives To gain an overview of changing attitudes towards capital punishment To identify and evaluate events & factors which led to changes