Hanging Matters 3: Give Them Enough Rope

Under the title It was a deterrent someone signing themselves "Pro-hanging majority" of Levenshulme writes to the Manchester Evening News' famous Postbag calling for a return of the rope and quotes an unidentified MP saying "we are just a mob if we want hanging back".

If that's Mr Kaufman, our friend's own very cultured MP, then bravo. But our hang-em-and-flog-em friend, of a Tory persuasion I'll be bound, knows that we're not complete idiots and that they need an argument or two to persuade us of the merits of their case.

One killer fact does the trick: "Murders have increased 20 fold since it (hanging) was abolished." Phew, that's going to tough statistic to counter. Since 1965, our ghoulish correspondent is telling us, there has been a 2000% increase in homicides.

So, if there were 400 culpable homicides in 1965 ... that means there must be 8,000 this year. Which even allowing for a considerable increase in population over the last 40 years is going some.

The police really should do something about it. Or perhaps it should be sub-editors of the Manchester Evening News who didn't spot this troll coming, and haven't printed a letter correcting this "fact" - though I know at least one has been submitted.

Can any of you dear readers guess the correct figure? And the proportion of the offences originally recorded as homicides that are later downgraded or struck out completely as say accidents or suicides. No googling or oggling please!

How many homicides recorded per year in England and Wales? How many (in brackets) later downgraded?
	8000 (none)
	8000 (10)
	8000 (100)
	8000 (1000)
	4000 (none)
	4000 (10)
	4000 (400)
	1000 (none)
	1000 (100)
	700 (10)
	700 (100)
	500 (10)
	500 (50)
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