THE BLOODY CODE

• CHANGES/CONTINUITY OF PUNISHMENTS 1500-1700

  • CONTINUITY: fines, capital punishments, whipping, pillaries
  • CHANGES: houses of correction, carting and transportation
• What were the houses of correction

  • mainly used to punish vagabonds. Aim was to punish and reform offenders. Made to do hard labour with the hope that they would change their ways once they served their time
• What was carting?

  • meant being paraded around the streets for everyone to see. The aim was public humiliation. The punishment was mainly used for moral crimes such as adultery and prostitution.
• What was transportation?

  • it began in the 1660's, this was when criminals would be transported thousands of miles away to the American (later Australian) colonies. The aim was to remove the criminals from society. This was used as an alternative to the Death Penalty for serious crimes. The criminals faced conditions close to slavery but some people believed this was a soft option when compared to the death penalty.
• The bloody code

  • During the 17th century, capital punishment was still used as a punishment for the most serious crimes like treason and murder. However, attitudes towards punishments were beginning to change and in 1688 there was a significant change to the law...
• What happened in 1688?

  • the number of crimes and death penalties increased. There were 50 capital crimes by 1688 but over the next 120 years this would increase to 225
  • The minor crimes punishable by death included stealing goods or poaching rabbits.
• What was the intentions and result of the Bloody Code?

  • create a strong deterrent so crime rates would be reduced.
  • However, law makers failed to recognise that many crimes were committed out of desperation. For example, a parent of a starving child would steal bread.
  • As poverty was the main cause of crime, it was the causes of poverty that needed to addressed to help reduce the crime rate, this however was not widely understood in the 1700s
• FACTORS

  • attitudes in society- perception of increased crime rates- people wanted action- harsher punishment were seen as a deterrent
  • government: law makers showed a lack of understanding about the relationship between poverty and crime.
  • poverty and wealth: poverty the main cause of crime