Crime and Punishment

    Cards (89)

    • Punishments in Saxon England
      • Tithings
      • Hue and cry
      • Parish constable
      • Trial by local jury
    • Trial by local jury
      1. Accused and victim give their version
      2. Jury decides based on knowledge of people
      3. Jury finds accused guilty or not guilty
    • Trials by ordeal in Saxon England
      • Trial by hot iron
      • Trial by hot water
      • Trial by cold water
      • Trial by blessed bread
    • Wergild
      System of fines for different crimes used by the Saxons
    • Punishments in Saxon England
      • Capital punishments
      • Corporal punishments
      • Public humiliation
    • When William the Conqueror took control of England, he brought new ideas about crime and punishment
    • Posse Comitatus
      Group of able-bodied men gathered by the sheriff to hunt for a criminal
    • Trial by combat
      The accused fought with the accuser until one was killed or unable to fight on
    • William and the Normans ended the wergild system, with all fines for crimes paid to the king</b>
    • The Normans introduced church courts which were more lenient than royal courts
    • The Norman king Henry II made further changes to crime and punishment laws to increase his personal power
    • Changes made by Henry II
      • King's peace
      • Travelling justices
      • Ending of trial by ordeal
      • 12 man jury
    • Justices of the peace were given the right to find and arrest people disturbing the peace in 1361
    • Coroners were people specifically appointed to investigate unexpected deaths
    • Benefit of the clergy
      If a person was accused of a crime, they were allowed to claim the right to be tried in a judge court where punishments were less severe
    • Sanctuary
      If a criminal on the run from the law could reach a church, they could claim sanctuary and be under the judge's protection
    • The church ended trial by ordeal in 1215 as it was seen as unreliable
    • Factors that changed the nature of crime and criminals 1500-1700
      • Population growth
      • Economic changes
      • Printing
      • Religious turmoil
      • Political turmoil
      • Landowners' attitudes
      • Vagabonds
    • Measures used to deal with vagabonds
      • Whipping
      • Slavery
      • Branding
      • Execution
      • Houses of Correction
    • Criminal activities 1500-1700
      • Priscilla's
      • Counterfeit crank beggars
      • Pair table trickster women
      • Rigors of prances
      • Rough fleurs
    • The human cry and Posse Comitatus were still relied upon for law enforcement 1500-1700
    • Parish constables remained the main defense against crime, but were part-time and unarmed
    • Watchmen and sergeants were employed in large towns and cities to patrol the streets
    • Courts 1500-1700
      • Manor courts
      • Justices of the Peace
      • County Assizes
    • Justices of the Peace had the right to pass the death sentence
    • Justices of the Peace
      Set up in the medieval period, became a major part of law enforcement between 1500 and 1700, important local people landowners who judged local or minor court cases
    • Justices of the Peace
      • Allowed to find people, put people in the stocks or order them to be whipped
    • Justices of the Peace
      1. Handled minor crimes on their own
      2. Met with other JPS in the same County four times a year for quarter sessions
      3. Most serious crimes would be considered at quarter sessions
      4. JPS would have the right to pass the death sentence
    • Royal judges
      1. Visited each County twice a year to handle the most serious offenses
      2. These were known as County Assizes
    • Benefit of clergy
      By the 1600s many people could read and were able to cheat the benefit of clergy rules so it was gotten rid of
    • Habeas corpus
      This Act was passed in 1679, prevented the authorities from locking up a person indefinitely without evidence that they were guilty
    • Laws concerning punishment for crimes got a lot stricter, this was known as the bloody court
    • Punishments used
      • Capital punishment (hanging, burning at the stake, beheading)
      • Pillory
      • Fines
      • Whipping
      • Houses of Correction
      • Gaols
      • Carting
      • Dunking stool
    • Capital punishment was still used for major crimes such as murder, treason and arson as well as stealing expensive items
    • After 1688 the number of crimes for which capital punishment was used massively increased
    • By 1815 there were 225 crimes that could lead to a death sentence, even very minor crimes such as poaching rabbits
    • Witchcraft had been a crime for hundreds of years, but between 1645-1747 there were 250 cases of witchcraft in East Anglia alone
    • Matthew Hopkins
      Employed to catch witches, used torture to get them to confess, victims were often old women
    • Witchcraft accusations were a sign of increased tension between the poor and those richer, combined with the instability caused by the Reformation and the Civil War
    • Witchcraft was decriminalized in the 18th century and was seen as merely a con trick
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