Capital Punishment
Derek Bentley Case
Questions?
Did Bentley incite (encourage) Craig?
Did Bentley try to stop Craig?
Did Bentley know Craig was armed?
What did “Let him have it” mean?
Should actual age or mental age decide if
a person is old enough to be executed?
Aftermath of Craig/Bentley Case.
• Possibility that it was a police bullet.
• Retired police officer later claimed Bentley did not shout
out.
• Bentley’s sister, Iris, campaigned for 45 years for a pardon
• Pardon granted in 1998, a year after Iris Bentley died
• Craig was released in 1963, is married and lives quietly in
England with a new identity
Bentley deserved to hang because;
• If the boys had not been there, a police officer
would not have died.
• He knew Craig carried weapons and he himself
had a weapon.
Bentley should have been reprieved because;
•He had a low mental age.
• He was in police custody when the officer was shot.
• There were serious doubts about the police evidence.
• 46 years later, he was reprieved despite there being
no new evidence
Purpose of executing Bentley;
•To deter others from carrying weapons
• To protect the public from a dangerous teenager.
• Revenge for the police officer’s colleagues and
family.
Questions

What is the purpose of Capital
Punishment?
4 KU

The USA still has the death penalty. Name
3 other countries that still have the death
penalty and describe the methods used.
6 KU