On December 18, 1969, the United Kingdom ("UK") officially abolished the death penalty for murder. In particular, UK Home Secretary, James Callaghan, led the campaign to abolish capital punishment, i.e. the death penalty, by making permanent the Murder Act of 1965 (also called the Abolition of Death Penalty Act).

England was long known for its use of the death penalty for many different types of crimes, and convicted criminals were often sent to the gallows. In fact, at one time, England had around 220 crimes where the death penalty could be used. This long list of capital crimes was commonly referred to as England’s "Bloody Code."

The political tide began to shift against the use of capital punishment in the mid-20th century. In 1965, the UK passed the Murder Act of 1965 (also called the Abolition of Death Penalty Act), which suspended capital punishment for the crime of murder in England, Wales, and Scotland for five years and substituted the death penalty for life imprisonment. The Murder Act of 1965 also stated that British Parliament could make the law permanent during the five year period that capital punishment was suspended for the crime of murder.

James Callaghan, Home Secretary of the UK, led the effort to make the Murder Act of 1965 permanent law. On December 16, 1969, the House Parliament passed the resolution to make the Act permanent and abolish the death penalty for murder. Two days later, on December 18, 1969, the House of Lords passed the same resolution and officially abolished the death penalty for the crime of murder in the UK.

Still, the death penalty survived for other crimes including treason, espionage, mutiny, etc. until capital punishment for all crimes was completely abolished in 1998. However, after the Murder Act of 1965 was made permanent on this day, December 18, 1969, the death penalty was not enforced for any other crimes. So, in effect, the death penalty has not been used in the UK since this law was passed.

Today, many countries still use capital punishment for various crimes, including the United States. For example, according to Amnesty International, over 65 countries allow the death penalty for different crimes — but not all of these countries actually use it.