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This lesson examines the case study of Derek Bentley, with a focus on the public reaction to his sentence and how his punishment led to the abolition of the death penalty.

UPDATED & RE-VAMPED CONTENT IN LINE WITH THE 2026 SPEC

The 21 slide fully resourced lesson contains activities, tasks, practice exam questions, printable resources and all background knowledge:

• Slide 1: Title slide - The Derek Bentley Case & its significance for the abolition of the death penalty.
• Slide 2: Warm Up - How do students feel about certain types of individuals being handed the death sentence?
• Slide 3-4: Recap - Students recap the main reasons for the abolition of the death sentence using six images as prompts. Includes answers.
• Slide 5-8: Derek Bentley Key Terms - Students are expected to know specific key terms to help them fully understand the case of Derek Bentley. Answers and printable resources included.
• Slide 9-10: Task 1 - A basic worksheet with instructions. All answers can be found on the lesson fact sheet.
• Slide 11: Task 2 - Students are encouraged to fully explain three reasons why the Derek Bentley case caused significant controversy at the time.
• Slide 12: Task 3 - Students play the role of the defence and the prosecution - what arguments can they think of for each side?
• Slide 13: Challenge questions, linked to the significance of the Derek Bentley case.
• Slide 14: Learning Review activities
• Slide 15: EXAM FOCUS - Two examples of a similarity and difference question based on the Derek Bentley case.
• Slide 16: EXAM FOCUS - An example of a 12 mark ‘Explain why’ question covering the reasons for the abolition of the death penalty.
• Slide 17: EXAM FOCUS - An example of a 16 mark ‘How far do you agree’ question.
• Slide 18: EXAM FOCUS - A slide showing how to use PEE paragraphs for explanation.
• Slide 19: Lesson fact sheet 1
• Slide 20: A detailed summary of the events of the Derek Bentley case.
• Slide 21: More from RA Resources.

All images used in this resource are in the public domain and are therefore copyright free. Images which require attribution have been attributed in the notes section of each slide where the image appears. If you feel any errors have been made, please contact me at raschoolresources@gmail.com in the first instance to resolve any issues. My lessons are completed using PowerPoint and designed on widescreen formatting. Thank you.

This resource is for personal use only unless a school license is purchased and for copyright reasons any slides, worksheets, RA Resources maps or diagrams should not be copied/amended for commercial use.