Final Prep
M’Naghten Defense
Who: Daniel M’Naghten, a Scottish woodturner suffering from paranoid delusions.
What: A legal test for insanity: a defendant is not responsible if they did not understand the nature of their act or that it was wrong.
When: Established in 1843 after M’Naghten mistakenly assassinated the British Prime Minister’s secretary, thinking he was being persecuted.
Where: United Kingdom.
Why: Became the dominant insanity standard across the UK, U.S., and Commonwealth, shaping modern criminal responsibility law.
Rémy
Who: Rémy was a young French man prosecuted by royal authorities for engaging in a consensual homosexual encounter with another man, Mallerange.
What: He was charged with the crime of sodomy, which in ancien-régime France was legally classified as both a moral and religious offense punishable by severe penalties—including imprisonment, public humiliation, or execution.
When: The case occurred in the early 18th century, a period when France intensified its policing of sexual “deviance,” particularly after Louis XIV’s moral reforms.
Where: The incident took place in France, likely in a provincial jurisdiction where local magistrates aggressively pursued moral crimes to reinforce social order.
Why: The prosecution reflected the era’s belief that same-sex relations were a threat to religious morality, patriarchal authority, and civic virtue. Rémy’s relative youth and lower social status made him especially vulnerable to harsh punishment.
Daniel L. Hatcher
Who: American legal scholar and professor.
What: Writes about how state systems—child welfare, juvenile courts, and poverty governance—harm marginalized communities.
When: 2000s–present.
Where: United States.
Why: Shows how modern justice systems (including those influenced by European models) perpetuate inequality through institutional design.
Mallerange
Who: Mallerange was the second man involved in the same homosexual encounter for which he and Rémy were arrested and prosecuted.
What: Like Rémy, he faced formal charges of sodomy. Contemporary records note that the court emphasized themes of “corruption,” moral danger, and the need for exemplary punishment, viewing the men’s relationship as evidence of moral disorder.
When: Tried in the early 1700s, during a period when French criminal courts revived strict enforcement of sexual-morality laws.
Where: The case unfolded within the French judicial system, where local courts (parlements or bailliages) handled investigations and sentencing.
Why: Authorities viewed the prosecution as necessary to defend public morality and suppress behaviors considered sinful and socially destabilizing. Mallerange’s involvement was treated not as a private act but as a public threat requiring punishment to deter others.
Law of the Suspects (Loi des suspects)
What: Law allowing arrest of anyone deemed a “suspect” or lacking sufficient revolutionary enthusiasm.
When: 1793 during the Reign of Terror.
Where: Revolutionary France.
Why: Gave the state sweeping surveillance and policing powers, leading to thousands of imprisonments and executions; key example of state-led criminal repression.
Dr. Vastel
Who: Étienne-Jean Vastel, French alienist (psychiatrist).
What: Wrote extensively on “degeneration,” hereditary crime, and juvenile delinquency.
When: Mid–late 19th century.
Where: France.
Why: Helped popularize the theory that criminal behavior has biological roots, influencing criminology before Lombroso.
Daniel Good
Who: British murderer who killed and dismembered his partner Jane Jones.
What: Fled from police, sparking an early mass manhunt.
When: 1842.
Where: London.
Why: Exposed weaknesses in early Metropolitan Police organization and contributed to public pressure for more professionalized policing.
Atavism
Who: Introduced by Cesare Lombroso.
What: The theory that criminals are evolutionary throwbacks with primitive physical traits.
When: Late 19th century.
Where: Italy (but spread across Europe).
Why: Influenced criminology, racial theory, and policing; though discredited, it shaped decades of policy relating to surveillance, eugenics, and “dangerous types.”
Whitechapel
What: London district marked by poverty, overcrowding, and crime.
When: Late 1800s, especially 1888 during the Ripper murders.
Where: East End of London.
Why: Became symbolic of urban social problems—poverty, policing failures, moral panic—and shaped reforms in crime prevention and detective work.
Durham Rule
What: A broad insanity test stating that actions caused by mental disease exempt criminal responsibility.
When: 1954, Durham v. U.S.
Where: U.S. federal courts (influenced by European psychiatry).
Why: Marked a shift toward medicalized understanding of criminality; later abandoned for being too vague.
Pierre Rivière
Who: French peasant who murdered his mother, sister, and brother.
What: Wrote an extensive memoir explaining his motives.
When: 1835.
Where: Normandy, France.
Why: Became one of the most important early insanity cases; philosophers and psychiatrists (including Foucault) use it to analyze the birth of forensic psychiatry.
Peremptory Strikes
What: Lawyers’ right to remove jurors without explanation.
When: Used historically in Britain and the U.S.
Where: Anglo-common-law systems.
Why: Controversial because they allow implicit bias (class, race, gender) to shape criminal trials.
Scotland Yard
What: Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service.
When: Founded in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel.
Where: London.
Why: Birthplace of modern professional policing, criminal investigation, and the detective bureau.
Federal Crime Bill (1994)
What: U.S. bill increasing policing, prison capacity, and mandatory sentences.
Why: Defines the era of mass incarceration and zero-tolerance policing.
Marie Manning
Who: Swiss domestic servant in Britain.
What: With her husband, murdered lover Patrick O’Connor (“Bermondsey Horror”).
When: 1849.
Where: London.
Why: Huge public spectacle; inspired Dickens’s criticism of public executions for being brutalizing and voyeuristic.
Cesare Lombroso
Who: Italian physician and criminologist.
What: Founded positivist criminology, arguing criminals have biological abnormalities.
When: 1870s–1900s.
Where: Italy, but widespread influence.
Why: Shifted criminology from moral theory to “scientific” study—though deeply flawed, he shaped European criminal policy.
Criminal Man (L’uomo delinquente)
What: Lombroso’s major work outlining atavism and physical markers of criminality.
When: 1876 (first edition).
Where: Italy.
Why: One of the most influential and controversial criminology texts; shaped policing, courts, and even fascist ideology.
Jack the Ripper
Who: Unknown serial killer.
What: Murdered at least five women in Whitechapel.
When: 1888.
Where: London.
Why: Created modern true-crime culture, exposed police limitations, and influenced forensic science and criminal profiling.
Elmira Reformatory
Who: Founded by Zebulon Brockway.
What: Reformatory emphasizing rehabilitation—education, discipline, parole.
When: Established 1876.
Where: New York (U.S.).
Why: Influenced European reformatories and the idea of the “reformable” juvenile/young offender.
U.S. v. Armstrong
What: Supreme Court case ruling defendants must prove racial bias in prosecution with specific evidence.
When: 1996.
Why: Made it extremely difficult to challenge discriminatory charging decisions.
Buck v. Bell
What: Supreme Court decision upholding forced sterilization laws.
When: 1927.
Why: Legalized eugenics in the U.S. and influenced similar policies across Europe, especially Germany.
William Morrison
Who: Scottish state executioner.
What: Carried out hangings across Britain.
When: Early 1900s.
Where: UK.
Why: Represents the bureaucratic professionalism of capital punishment before its abolition.
“The Juvenile Offender”
Who: By William Healy.
What: Landmark study arguing juvenile crime arises from psychological and environmental factors.
When: 1915.
Why: Birth of modern juvenile justice; replaced moral blame with scientific diagnosis.
Ritual Murder (Blood Libel)
What: False accusation that Jews murdered Christians for religious rituals.
When: From medieval Europe through the 20th century.
Where: Widely across Europe.
Why: Justified violent persecution, pogroms, and discriminatory laws; shows how criminal accusations can enforce racism.
Könitz (Konitz Affair)
What: 1900 case where the mutilated body of a boy (Ernst Winter) led to false ritual-murder accusations.
Where: Prussia (now Poland).
Why: Demonstrated how antisemitic mobs could influence police and courts.
Ernst Winter
Who: 18-year-old murdered boy at center of the Könitz case.
What: His death was weaponized to blame Jewish residents.
Why: Shows how victims’ bodies were used to fuel antisemitic panic.
Adolf Lewy
Who: Jewish resident falsely accused in the Könitz affair.
Why: Example of how legal systems enabled antisemitic scapegoating even without evidence.
Staatsbürgerzeitung
What: Far-right German newspaper.
When: Early 20th century.
Where: Germany.
Why: Promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories; critical in shaping public opinion in cases like Könitz.
Thirteenth Amendment
What: Abolished slavery except for those convicted of crimes.
When: 1865.
Where: U.S.
Why: Allowed penal labor systems (convict leasing), which influenced European debates about prison purpose and labor.
Hans Beckert
Who: Fictional child-murderer in Fritz Lang’s M (1931).
What: Portrayed as mentally ill and hunted by both police and criminals.
Why: Reflects Weimar anxieties about modern crime, mob justice, and criminal psychology.
Kangaroo Court
What: Illegitimate, biased, or mob-run court lacking due process.
Where: Used worldwide.
Why: Represents breakdown of legal fairness; used to critique authoritarian or vigilante justice.
Ernst G.
Who: German youth murderer discussed widely in criminology debates.
What: His case questioned whether juveniles should be treated as “born criminals” or rehabilitated.
When: Early 20th century.
Why: Central to the emergence of juvenile justice in Europe.
Paragraph 175
What: German law criminalizing male homosexuality.
When: 1871–1994 (harsher under Nazis).
Where: Germany.
Why: Used to imprison and persecute LGBTQ people; an example of morality policing and oppressive criminal law.
Euthanasia (Nazi T4 Program)
What: Systematic murder of disabled and mentally ill individuals.
When: 1939–1945.
Where: Nazi Germany & occupied territory.
Why: Labeled “life unworthy of life,” combining medical authority with state killing—precursor to the Holocaust.
McCleskey v. Kemp
What: Supreme Court case acknowledging but permitting racial bias in the death penalty.
When: 1987.
Why: Parallels European debates about whether statistical discrimination should invalidate punishment systems.
Edward James Clary
Who: Young Black man sentenced under harsh crack-cocaine guidelines even though he had no criminal history.
When: 1990s.
Why: Case illustrates racialized sentencing and the War on Drugs’ effect on young offenders.
War on Drugs
What: Policies emphasizing policing, long sentences, and zero tolerance for drug crimes.
When: 1970s–present.
Where: Started in U.S., influenced European policies.
Why: Major driver of mass incarceration and debates about racial inequality.
Impartiality
What: Requirement that judges and juries be unbiased.
Why: Central to Enlightenment justice reforms; contrasts sharply with systems of mob justice, political trials, or discriminatory courts.
Gastarbeiter
Who: Immigrant “guest workers,” primarily Turkish, Italian, and Yugoslav.
When: 1950s–1970s.
Where: West Germany.
Why: Their presence created debates about immigration, policing, and social stereotypes linking outsiders with criminality.
Stand Your Ground Laws
What: Laws allowing self-defense without duty to retreat.
When: 2005 onward in U.S.
Why: Raise concerns about racialized violence and vigilantism; often compared to European self-defense standards, which are stricter.