Abolition upheld
"You shall be hanged by the neck until you are dead." A judge has uttered these words to 1,300 Canadians. More than 700 of them actually went to the gallows before Canada abolished capital punishment in 1976. But opinions on the noose have tended to shift over time. Protests in the 1960s were met with questions about preventing the murder of police officers and prison guards. Today, the debate is ongoing, especially for multiple murderers like Clifford Olson and Paul Bernardo.
But disappointed Peterborough MP Bill Domm says the majority of his constituents are not spoken for here today: "I don't intend to ever give up representing 70 per cent of my constituents."
. Since the 1987 decision, national polls show a drop in public opinion favouring capital punishment. An Ipsos-Reid poll found 52 per cent supported reinstatement in 2001, down from the 73 per cent that favoured the death penalty in 1987.
. Ottawa's Carleton County Gaol where one of Canada's last public hangings took place is now a youth hostel. The gallows still exist on the east side of the jail.
Program: The National
Broadcast Date: June 30, 1987
Guest(s): Bill Domm, Gerald Merrithew, Brian Mulroney, Svend Robinson, John Turner
Reporter: David Halton
Duration: 2:28
Last updated: February 7, 2012
Page consulted on December 6, 2013
All Clips from this Topic
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CBC asks: Are you in favour of capital punishment?
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Canadian and global statistics on death penalty abolition.
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Host Laurier LaPierre gets emotional over alleged wrongful conviction.
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In 1966, a Canadian man whose death sentence was commuted has nightmar...
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Liberal member of parliament says Canada's not ready to abolish capita...
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Canadians comment on capital punishment.
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Prime Minister Diefenbaker casts a "No" vote.
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Professor reports on new study.
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The former prime minister says he knows what it means to sign a death ...
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Al Baldwin, looking back in 1975, describes an inhumane execution.
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Guards threaten a walk-out in support of capital punishment.
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Hangman John Ellis says the noose is most humane.
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A poll finds British Columbians want to reinstate the death penalty.
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Parliament votes again to keep capital punishment. Any attempt to brin...
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Dan Bjarnason recounts largest hanging in Canadian history.
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"You shall be hanged by the neck until you are dead." A judge has utte...
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After a decade of furious debate, Canadian Parliament narrowly votes t...
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Picketers protest a double hanging at Toronto's Don Jail.