I've just watched the first episode of this on Catchup. The 1971 film starring Richard Attenborough was memorable but I've always thought Timothy Roth plays incredibly creepy characters and he didn't disappoint in this production.
I think I can remember hangings being reported on 8am radio news broadcasts but, being just a youngster, not understanding what that meant. However, as I grew older and more aware of the big bad world, I couldn't understand the logic behind hanging as opposed to long-term prison sentences, other than it was cheaper to bump someone off rather than pay for their imprisonment while they considered the error of their ways.
I don't watch much tv these days as I feel so much of it treats viewers as idiots but I'm looking forward to the next episodes of this series.