history crime and punishment

• The death penalty was abolished in the UK in 1965.
• There are currently no plans to reintroduce capital punishment in the UK.
• In 2003, the Human Rights Act made it unlawful to execute prisoners who were under 18 at the time of their offence.
• In 2014, there were 73 executions worldwide, with China being responsible for most of them.
• Saxon crime prevention & policing

  • Blood feuds
  • Wergild
  • Hue and cry
  • Tithing
  • Trial by ordeal
• Blood feud


  If a person committed a crime against another then the victim's family may have a blood feud with the criminal's family
• Wergild

  Compensation for damage to a person, set amounts for various parts of the body
• Hue and cry


  If a member of the community saw a crime being committed they would cry out for others in the village to come to their aid and everyone was expected to help apprehend the criminal
• Tithing

  A group of 10 men who were all responsible for their behaviour, if one committed a crime the others were responsible for bringing him to justice
• Trials by ordeal


  • Trial by fire
  • Trial by hot water
  • Trial by cold water
  • Trial by sacrament
• Trial by ordeal

  • Passed the judgement of innocence or guilt over to God
• Reasons why the Saxon system is fair

  • The system of justice was the same for everyone
  • With the system of Trial by Ordeal everyone had the same chance of being protected by God
  • Humiliation was used as a punishment so that losing a family member to execution did not disadvantage families
  • Juries at the folkmoot were people who knew the accused and could be bias
• Reasons why the Saxon system is unfair

  • Trial by ordeal was based on religious belief and not factual evidence
  • By using the tithings people could be punished for the crimes of another
  • Ordeals for the Clergy were not as harsh as other ordeals for non-clergy
• Changes introduced by the Normans


  • Introduction of trial by combat
  • Murdrum fines
  • Forest laws
  • The Harrying of the North
  • Travelling justices
  • County gaols
  • Trial by jury
  • Justice of the Peace (JP's)
  • County coroners
• Trial by combat

  The accused and the accuser would fight until either the death or one of the two gave in, the loser was considered to have been forsaken by God and was therefore guilty
• Murdrum fines

  If a Norman law was killed and the killer could not be found it was considered to be 'Murdrum', a hefty fine was given for the whole village to pay
• Forest laws

  Laws that applied to areas of woodland that were protected by William I, Saxons could not hunt deer, carry a bow or chop wood from the trees in these protected woods
• Harrying of the North

  William I's reaction to rebellions, he would burn down villages and kill whole herds of livestock to deter further rebellion
• Travelling justices

  People given power by the king to hear cases and make judgements on behalf of the king
• County gaols

  Used as a form of punishment, built to hold people prior to going to court
• Trial by jury

  If you felt that you did not want to be judged by an ordeal then you could pay for a 'writ' to be tried by a 12 man jury
• Justice of the Peace (JP's)

  Appointed to each county with the power to fine, bind and arrest people who were disturbing the peace
• County coroners

  People specifically appointed to investigate unexpected or suspicious deaths
• Impacts of religion on medieval justice


  • Benefit of the clergy
  • Sanctuary
• Benefit of the clergy

  The right that Priests had to have any discretion tried by the Church Courts, which were seen as much less harsh than the King's court or the manor courts
• Sanctuary

  If someone was being pursued for committing a crime and they made it to a church they could claim sanctuary and be protected from the law for 40 days
• Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1536 and sanctuary ended entirely
• Key changes in society 1500-1750

  • The price of food
  • Population growth
  • Henry VIII and the monasteries
• Price of food

  If there was a bad harvest and food supplies were low then the price of the food would rise, making it much more difficult for poor people to get the food they needed and likely causing an increase in theft
• Population growth


  This period saw an increase in the amount of people living in England, creating greater competition for the jobs that were available
• Henry VIII and the monasteries


  Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and dissolved the monasteries, which had provided charitable work and support for the poor
• New crimes 1500-1750


  • Witchcraft
  • Vagrancy
  • Heresy
• Witchcraft


  Laws from Henry VIII and Mary I made death the punishment for witchcraft, with the background of religious changes and the 'witch craze'
• How to spot a witch


  • Having a witch mark
  • Typically elderly women
  • Having a familiar
  • Missing church
  • Unintelligible muttering
• Witch trials


  Methods used to prove someone was a witch included ducking, examination of witch marks, and torturing the accused
• Vagrancy


  Punishment for vagrancy included a hole burnt in the ear with a red hot poker and 30 lashes with a whip, with the poor often being seen as idle and sinful
• Heresy


  Supporting the Pope instead of the King as head of the Church was seen as treason, punishable by hanging, drawing and quartering
• The 'Bloody Code' in the 18th century saw an increase in the number of capital crimes, with the rich and powerful using new laws to protect their interests
• Act of Supremacy


  The King becoming Head of the Church, instead of the Pope, as against God
• Henry used his powers to pass a law saying that supporting the Pope was treason. The punishment for traitors is hanging drawing and quartering.