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Markus Eder:At
my e-book
the Instigation of the Devil: Capital Punishment and the Assize in the early Modern England, 1670-1730, sold on the website of ebookguides4life for 7,50
Canadian Dollars)
The
central aim of this synopsis is to outline in an area, the Western Circuit, whose representative for England the centre as, large as whole
than and
Middlesex,
population population
whole
and the great Circuit should for a fuller and Essex, or more
further,
balanced picture than any study Chester. Against this background, punishment study. in early Modern several
of single
counties
as Surrey,
tendencies have
of the
administration the
of capital this
England
surfaced in
course of
1) Strong
differences
in
punishment
and
indictment
patterns
to
English jurisdictions and of for men of crisis if not counteracted by increasing 1718 men over women despite higher execution rate
till passage of
transportation
act
3) Benefit of clergy as no privilege execution rate for 4) Greater overall imperatives of women than for
severity in state
times
for
and their
execution punishment
rates
of crimes and
punishment of
capital
crimes
2 1) Strong
difference in
punishment
to more urbanized
English jurisdictions
One
result
it capital
Circuit and more urbanized areas of early Modern Assize, which was a several First of very extraordinary
England.
we put the
assumed for
average about 7
nor such a
substantiated by
my research on the records of find a rise in the annual the period to my from much
minimum
homicide
about
1670-1679 its
back In
previous
level
period
1710-1729. stem
might
very well
concentrated of
perhaps too
fragmentary evidence
urban rural
areas early
Modern England
Seventeenth and eighteenth century homicide the stipulation of the Waltham Black should be the so on punished capitally, in
legislation as the stabbing murder to have holds its attempts had true with
act
and
act, that
turn, seemed
Murder act
of
1752
which, despite to
the Western Circuit, not seem rate for murder.3 exception of high treason
have effected
against
the
coinage was
and,
perhaps, horse
likewise the
than in
more urban
property offences
theft, housebreaking and burglary were much higher on the Western in more urbanized areas like London, Essex or
Circuit than
3 against the coinage, which -as indicated beforewas one of the the few
serious property crimes comparatively carried a the lower execution rate than
frequently
indicted on
those suffered
by high traitors
coinage convicted in more urbanized jurisdictions. with serious property crimes being of even less frequently indicted for homicide was
number
executions
areas. While the in late and while place seventeenth in early for
proportion and
eighteenth
eighteenth
century
moral urban
areas of
Although we can not be hundred per cent certain on this point, the rural character of the Western Circuit might also and have limited sentencing
of verdict
particular, the legislation of 1691 with regard house the seems to have exerted no strong
to robbery the
or larceny
influence on
percentage of executions
at daylight.
robbery, burglary and housebreaking might not have the reasons political the for this lie probably discussed
after 1690 than before, but far reaching economic and of this work, than in
developments of
chapter III
letters
2)Ever increasing
rate
till
Although
England been higher in the first half of the first half of the eighteenth drop
century, it would
inappropriate
assume a
continuous
in executions over we
in the and
number
of
executions. rate
Monmouth rebellion
pardoning
connected the
witness
till the
passage of
transportation
decade 1720-1729 the execution rate admittedly be the case, that the transportation act
juries to
higher
high per centage of partial have rendered that a higher these per full
verdicts, might after the passage of centage of full capital verdicts capital verdicts would recognised the was a higher in
statute
expectation,
most of
transportation. As on
full verdicts
the Western
period after 1718 than before, jury behaviour of probably very much a reality.
the above
mentioned
3)Benefit
of clergy
no privilege for
men over
women
despite a higher
it, was theoretically discriminatory this. In cases of goods so far, that be punished by value of
treatment
factors accounted
the stolen
under
could therefore
Alternatively, they also could downrate the theft amounted to that no felony at
no capital
conviction
non-availability of
benefit
of clergy
led to capital convictions, royal pardons tendentially ensured, that the females were spared. convicted females for the -at least if
of the convicted
If, nevertheless, the execution rate of capital we exclude the overproportionally high
cent
slightly higher
5 were and brought to trial at all, were overproportionally often indicted for witchcraft
non-clergyable homicide as petit treason and infanticide. Crimes of that serious a for royal pardons, and the crimes were great majority of female With much the regard to higher
committed such
therefore executed. to be
nearly all other crimes, pardoning rates for women tended than to those for men. Tenderness to the female sex as
well as
preparedness
pardon, with the exception of petit the main reasons for this
traitors, all pregnant female offenders provided benevolent treatment of women. was In this context,
not comparable
4)Greater
overall
severity in
times of internal
by imperatives
of state
As
becomes
very
clear
from
the
lecture of in times
preceding of crisis.
tended
against the
mariners. High
treason of
the crisis
coinage in
desertion/illegally
wandering
1685, when deserting were very severely however, held Time and dealt only true,
and mariners
crisis,
again, the
to execute large
alienate
excessive
severity.
5) War/peace
A
as
increased
living
induced the
authorities to
lower
further tended
state, being in need of troops for warfare felons in exchange for their
pardons to convicted
Demobilisation, on the other hand, unleashed thousands warriors, quite often resorting to serious and a high no
execution means
Monmouth rebellion
the same effects,
skirmishes with Spain during the years 1727 had troops after the
Monmouth
Rebellion,
execution rates for serious property offenders seem to have been somewhat other demobilisation periods.6
If
one
pardoning easily
rates
for
individual a
categories
of
crimes, one
recognizes
hierachy
in mercy
categories:
1)Crimes
against
god
and nature
as
sodomy
and
buggery
2)non-clergyable homicide 3)violent 4)violent crime crime against against a person a person`s a property property
5) non-violent 6) crime
crime
against
person`s
against
the state
Sodomy, as the greatest challenge to the all. Next in severity of punishment came
moral
order,
received
no mercy at
non-clergyable
homicide with an
overall execution rate of about 82 per cent. Within this category, petit treason dominated
7 with 89 an execution rate of 100 per per cent, and infanticide violent we cent, followed 66 per by murder with about
with crime
about against a an
Within the category rape cent. least is per The and witchcraft,
determine this
crime 100
witchcraft
witch 71
about
category
violent
crime
property,
comprising theft,
such
as arson,
burglary, as
housebreaking well as
nocturnal
horse killing
housebreaking
machine, intent
only aside,
executed
burglary
about 54
heavily horse
capital
convicts
killing was
actually
executed. Non-violent capital all mere property crimes 29 per cent of crimes against concerning a person`s property the highest received of among mercy. A
individuals
amount
either pickpocketing/secret warehouses, theft were executed. were with an execution house from
warehouses
of zero
per
cent
theft per
dwelling
carried
a comparatively high
from person,
nocturnal
theft
rack 21 per
and
theft and
25 per cent,
cent
criminals of all
this crime
death.7 Admittedly,
were strong
8 variations against were in pardoning rates within this crime category. High traitors an authorizing pass
50 per cent
of royal property, too, experienced an execution rate of and at most 18,7 per cent of all
Very
clearly, there
variations
in
the
and punishment of capital crimes. Hampshire and high share of theft of royal fact that in these two
Devonshire
witnessed
and, in
particular,
theft
often indicted
Wilteshire. Appearing disguised and with offensive was only indicted in Hampshire.
turn, With
cases,
Hampshire
seems
to
have stood
Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present .(Cambridge, 2008), p.107, John Beattie : Crime and the Courts in England, 1660-1800 (Princeton, 1986), p.108.
2)The that could author of the present work is somewhat less confident nearly all murders and manslaughters Therefore, I use were the than Spierenburg, and
consequently rate.
be indicted.
homicide
Emsley`s
data on
post-1750
murder execution
execution
(London, 2007), p.5 and p.70, endnote 14. 5) This is the general tendency for the Western Circuit taken as a
Somersetshire already witnessed for the period 1710-1719 a rate compared to the period 1700-1709. John Child`s opinion, also John holds true with
execution
regard
to
the
Army in the late Seventeenth Century, in: War and 7)Due to the impossibility to ascertain the
precise rate
Monmouth
treason. Actual