# Punishment of Offences Act 1837

The Punishment of Offences Act 1837 (7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 91) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It abolished the death penalty for a number of statutory offences and replaced it with transportation for life.

## Provisions

The preamble specified the following offences:
* offences under sections 1 and 4 and 5 of the Riot Act (1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 5)
* offences under section 9 of the Murder Act 1751 (25 Geo. 2. c. 37)
* offences under section 10 of the Prisoners (Rescue) Act 1791 (31 Geo. 3. c. 17 (I))
* offences under section 1 of the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797 (37 Geo. 3. c. 70)
* offences under section 1 of the Incitement to Disaffection Act (Ireland) 1797 (37 Geo. 3. c. 40 (I))
* offences under section 1 and 4 of the Unlawful Oaths Act 1812 (52 Geo. 3. c. 104)
* offences under section 9 of the Slave Trade Act 1824 (5 Geo. 4. c. 113)
Section 1 of the act provided that:
   If any person shall . . . be convicted of any of the offences herein-before mentioned, such person shall not suffer death or have sentence of death awarded against him or her for the same, but shall be liable . . . to be transported beyond the seas for the term of the natural life of such person . . .
Section 2 of the act permitted the punishment for the offences mentioned of imprisonment with or without hard labour and solitary confinement up to 1-month at a time totalling no more than 3-months in a year.
Section 3 of the act provided that nothing in the act would affect powers under the Prisons Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 38) or the Gaols Act 1823 (4 Geo. 4. c. 64).
Section 4 of the act repealed the Plague Act 1603 (1 Jas. 1. c. 31) and "any act perpetuating the same".
Section 5 of the act provided that the act would come into force on 1 October 1837.

## Legacy
### Criticism

The broad terms of the repeal mentioned in section 5 of the act was criticised in by Thomas Chisholm Anstey, a member of the Board for the Revision of the Statute Law.

### Amendment

The penalty was reduced to penal servitude for life by section 2 of the Penal Servitude Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. 3), and to imprisonment for life by section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 58), of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1949 (11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 94), and of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1953 (c. 14) (N.I.). Section 1(1) of the 1949 act was replaced by section 221(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21).
Sections 4 and 5 of the act were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict. c. 35).
The words "after the commencement of this Act" in section 1 of the act, and section 3 of the act, were repealed by the Statute Law Revision (No. 2) Act 1890 ((53 & 54 Vict. c. 51).
The words "at the discretion of the court" and "or for any Term not less than fifteen years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three years" in section 1 of the act were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. 19).
Section 2 of the act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision (No. 2) Act 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 54).
Section 1 of the act was related so far as it related to offences under the Riot Act (1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 5), the Murder Act 1751 (25 Geo. 2. c. 37) and section 4 of the Unlawful Oaths Act 1812 (52 Geo. 3. c. 104), by section 10(2) of, and Part III of Schedule 3 to the Criminal Law Act 1967 (c. 58).
Section 1 of the act was repealed for Northern Ireland by section 15 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 (c. 18 (N.I.)).
The act was retained for the Republic of Ireland by section 2(2)(a) of, and Part 4 of Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 2007.
The act was repealed as to New Zealand by section 412(1) of, and the fourth schedule to, the Crimes Act 1961.