Capital punishment and the Bloody Code

• During the 17th century, there was a harsh attitude to law-making that is sometimes called the ‘Bloody Code’.
• By 1688 there were 50 crimes that could be punished with the death penalty (called ‘capital crimes’)
• These included relatively minor crimes like poaching rabbits or fish.
• As the penalties were so severed, a lot of pardons were given, which led to a confusing message.
• Pregnant woman were able to ‘plead for belly’, which meant escaping punishment until after the baby was born.
• By the 18th century, even more crimes were made capital offences, and the weaknesses in the system became even more apparent.