Judgment of Death Act 1823
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | An Act for enabling Courts to abstain from pronouncing Sentence of Death in certain Capital Felonies. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 4 Geo. 4 c. 48 |
| Territorial extent | |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 4 July 1823 |
| Commencement | 4 July 1823 |
| Repealed |
|
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Statute Law Revision Act 1888 |
| Repealed by | |
| Relates to | Gaols Act 1823 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Judgment of Death Act 1823 (4 Geo. 4 c. 48) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (although it did not apply to Scotland). Passed at a time when there were over 200 offences in English law which carried a mandatory sentence of death, it gave judges the discretion to pass a lesser sentence for the first time. It did not apply to treason or murder. The act required judges to enter a sentence of death on the court record, but then allowed them to commute the sentence to imprisonment.