Crime and Punishment Revision

Punishment in Anglo-Saxon England

  • Emphasis on deterrence and retribution.

  • Death penalty for serious crimes (treason, murder, manslaughter).

  • Re-offenders faced harsh corporal punishment (mutilation).

  • King Alfred introduced wergild (man price) - compensation to victim/family.

  • Wergild varied by social rank (e.g., noble vs. peasant).

  • Men and women treated equally under wergild.

Punishment in Norman England (Change/Continuity)

  • William used fines paid to the King, ending wergild.

  • Punishment exacted without regard for law (Harrying of the North).

  • Death penalty continued, used more frequently.

  • Murdrum fine: community paid fine for murdered Norman body.

  • 1351: Hanging, drawing, and quartering introduced for high treason.

Punishment in Early Modern England

  • Henry VIII burned heretics; Mary I, protestants; Elizabeth I, Catholics.

  • Recusancy fines for not attending Protestant mass.

  • Stocks and pillory, whipping, and ducking stool still used.

  • Prisons used for suspects awaiting trial, with poor conditions.

  • 1531: Vagabonds whipped and sent back to birthplace.

  • Vagrancy Act 1547: Vagrants branded and sold as slaves.

  • 1601 Poor Law: 'Undeserving poor' could be branded or whipped.

  • Guy Fawkes tortured, Catholics faced restrictions and increased fines.

  • 1542 Witchcraft Act: Witchcraft punishable by death.

  • Transportation to American colonies from 1615 for petty crimes.

  • Houses of Correction (Bridewells) for prostitutes, thieves, and vagrants.

Punishment: 18th and 19th Centuries

  • Transportation to America until 1776, then to Australia until 1868 (approx. 160,000 people).

  • Bloody Code: increased number of capital crimes (222 by 1810).

  • 1820s: Robert Peel abolished Bloody Code.

  • 1868: Public executions ended.

  • Prisons became more common; reformers raised awareness of poor conditions.

  • Silent System vs. Separate System in prisons.

  • 1865 Prisons Act: stricter prison rules.

  • Gladstone Report: urged rehabilitation.

Prison Reform

  • Robert Peel's 1823 Gaols Act: prisons secure and healthy, jailers paid, separate female prisoners, teachers, doctors, and churchmen employed.

  • Pentonville prison: model separate prison opened in 1842.

  • 1907: Probation Service set up.

  • 1922: Prison reforms allowing ordinary haircuts and clothing.

  • 1933: Open prisons started.

  • 1935: Prison officers received proper training.

  • 1948: Flogging abolished.

20th Century Criminal Justice Reform

  • 1908 Children’s Act: Under 16s can’t be executed.

  • 1908 Prevention of Crime Act: Borstals for young offenders.

  • 1933 Young Person’s Act raised age of death penalty to 18.

  • 1948 Criminal Justice Act reduced use of prisons for juveniles.

  • 1982 Criminal Justice Act replaced Borstals with Youth Detention Centers.

  • Youth Offender Institutions introduced with focus on education.

Modern Day Alternatives to Prison

*1907 Probation - criminals report regularly to probation officer, attend training courses and possibly receive drug/alcohol/anger- management treatment.

  • Drug and alcohol treatment programs

  • Community Service (1973) – offenders do supervised, unpaid work in local community

  • Electronic Tagging (1990s) – made possible by advances in technology, it helps monitor curfews and conditions of court order through electronic signal in ankle tag.

  • Restorative Justice – where criminal meets victim to understand impact of their actions.

Changes in Punishment: Abolition of Death Penalty

  • 1957 Homicide Act: death penalty only for capital murder.

  • 1965 Murder Act: suspended death penalty for 5 years, then made permanent in 1969.

  • 1998: Death penalty ended for ALL crimes.

Treatment of Conscientious Objectors

  • WW1: Harsh treatment, many imprisoned, some sentenced to death.

  • WW2: Govt. tried to find