The Royal College of Psychiatrists and the death penalty

The Royal College of Psychiatrists recently issued a revised statement on its position concerning capital punishment. The College proposes to support psychiatrists who refuse to be involved in the capital process, but accepts that some may take up limited involvement in the manner set out in the document. The Royal College is the professional body for psychiatric practitioners in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Almost no public statements are issued from the College without first being deliberated on within at least two of its three major committees. The new document on capital punishment remains in the spirit of the previous ones. The topic of capital punishment is noncontroversial within the British medical profession. In all European countries, capital punishment is against the law, because there is an overarching directive from the Council of Europe (a wide group of nations, wider than the European Union) insisting that it be abolished.

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