[1] The Isle of Man is a British Crown Dependency, but not part of the United Kingdom (which had effectively abolished capital punishment in 1965).
The legal code of the Isle also permitted birching long after its abolition in Britain, although the courts were expected to refrain from inflicting it.
Deemster Callow thus became the last judge in the British Isles to pass a death sentence (but chose not to wear a black cap whilst doing so).
Following sentencing, Teare engaged a new lawyer, Louise Byrne, who immediately took the case to the appeal court, where the conviction was quashed.
The judge made note of Teare's experience as the (probably) last man sentenced to death under British rule, and also of the unlikeliness it would have been carried out, under the particular procedure called the "dance" of crime, conviction and commutation.