Abstract
This article will convey information about a small-scale piece of research, which is in its early stages, on public attitudes towards the death penalty in England and Wales c. 1928 ? 1965. The time period covers that of the reinvigoration of the abolition movement in the twentieth-century until the suspension of capital punishment, preceding its abolition in 1969. The project will analyse qualitative data on public views on the death penalty in the form of letters sent to successive Home Secretaries concerning capital prisoners, which can be found in Home Office files held in the National Archives. The letters will not be regarded as representative of public opinion during the era, but as sources that make the relationship between contemporary views on the death penalty, wider cultures of punishment and the socio-economic context researchable. The article will outline the theoretical background on the cultural meanings of capital punishment and the plans to research this from letters concerning the execution or reprieve of capital prisoners in England and Wales.