Crime and punishment topic 5

Question 1

What happened when someone was accused of a crime in Saxon times

Answer 1

They faced trial by a jury made up of men from the village

Question 2

What happened if the jury couldn’t decide whether a victim was guilty

Answer 2

They turned to trial by ordeal, which took place in a church

Question 3

What were four ways of trial by ordeal

Answer 3

Trial by blessed bread(used for priests) - it was believed if they were guilty they would choke
Trial by hot iron - the accused picked up a hot iron, if their hand got infected after three days of being wrapped they were considered guilty
Trial by hot water - accused put hand in hot water, same thing as hot iron
Trial by cold water - accused was put in a pond/river on a rope. If they floated they were guilty

Question 4

What was the mundrum fine introduced by the Normans

Answer 4

This had to be paid by the entire region if someone there killed a Norman

Question 5

What was wergild

Answer 5

Compensation paid to the victim of the crime or their families

Question 6

What were some common medieval punishments

Answer 6

Whipping/flogging for crimes like stealing, stocks and pillory for crimes like swearing, mutilation for regular offenders or theft, execution for serious crimes by hanging and imprisonment for debtors

Question 7

What was trial by combat

Answer 7

Men in a dispute fought each other until one was killed or they could fight no longer. If you lost you were guilty and if you won you were hanged

Question 8

Which forms of punishment continued into Tudor times

Answer 8

Whipping, the stocks and pillory

Question 9

Why was there more crime in Tudor times

Answer 9

Many moved to the city hoping to find work and when they couldn’t find it often turned to crime

Question 10

What were the stocks

Answer 10

A wooden framework which held petty criminals by the ankles - its main purpose was public disgrace and humiliation

Question 11

What was the pillory

Answer 11

A wooden framework which held criminals by the neck and wrists. Used for criminals such as dishonest traders and sexual offenders who sometimes killed by stones thrown

Question 12

What was the death penalty used for in Tudor times

Answer 12

Treason, murder, counterfeiting, arson

Question 13

How much would a thief have to steal to be executed in Tudor and Stuart times

Answer 13

Goods valued over one shilling

Question 14

How many crimes carried the death penalty by the end of the seventeenth century

Answer 14

50

Question 15

How many crimes carried the death penalty at the end of the eighteenth century

Answer 15

Over 200

Question 16

Where was the place for execution in London during the eighteenth century

Answer 16

Tyburn, where Marble Arch is now

Question 17

What was transportation

Answer 17

Punishing criminals by sending them overseas

Question 18

Give some reasons for transportation

Answer 18

Alternative for hanging which sometimes felt too extreme, imprisonment was too costly, it would reduce crime in Britain by completely removing the criminals

Question 19

What did the 1717 Transportation Act allow criminals to do

Answer 19

Choose transportation to America instead of branding, whipping or hanging

Question 20

How was a profit made from transporting convicts

Answer 20

Firms would ship prisoners to American colonies then sell them for up to £80

Question 21

Why did transportation end

Answer 21

Due to the American War of Independence

Question 22

What were prison hulks(industrial era)

Answer 22

Old warships and merchant ships converted into floating prisons

Question 23

How many prisoners died on prison hulks between 1776 and 1778

Answer 23

More than a quarter

Question 24

Where were convicts transported following its discovery by Captain Cook

Answer 24

Australia

Question 25

Which convicts were the least fortunate in the Australian colonies

Answer 25

Farm workers as they might be taken to a remote and isolated farm at the mercy of their master

Question 26

Who was the most fortunate in the Australian colonies

Answer 26

Skilled workers eg blacksmiths and carpenters as they were seen as most valuable

Question 27

What were some rewards that convicts could get from good conduct

Answer 27

Ticket of leave - freedom to work and live in a particular district
Absolute pardon - cleared their sentence, they could go home
Conditional pardon - the convict was free but couldn’t go back to their own country

Question 28

Why did all transportation end

Answer 28

Australians resented their country being a dumping ground, New South Wale refused to have any more convicts and it was expensive

Question 29

How bad were conditions in prisons

Answer 29

Very bad. Many were on the edge of starvation, gaolers charged inmates for basic necessities

Question 30

Who was John Howard

Answer 30

He inherited a large sum of money and became High Sheriff of Bedfordshire. He was shocked by the conditions of jails in England

Question 31

What four suggestions did John Howard make for prisons to Parliament

Answer 31

Sound, roomy, hygienic buildings, salaries for gaolers, training for prisoners to help them reform, inspection of prisons

Question 32

What did the Gaol Fever Bill involve

Answer 32

Prisons must be cleaned regularly, have ventilation, annual whitewashing and a regular doctor

Question 33

What was the downside of the Gaol Fever Bill

Answer 33

It didn’t say how what it involved would be enforced.

Question 34

What did George O Paul do

Answer 34

He changed the poor conditions in prisons by improving security - making the walls higher and arranging the buildings so staff could see what was going on, improving health by isolating newly admitted prisoners and making prisons well ventilated, he also separated prisoners into separate areas

Question 35

Who was Elizabeth Fry

Answer 35

A very religious Quaker who improved prison conditions for women by giving them rules to follow, appointing female warmers, creating religious schools and giving them regular work eg needlework and knitting

Question 36

What did the Gaols Act of 1823 include

Answer 36

A prison had to be set up in every county
JPs had to inspect prisons, gaolers received salaries, prisons had to be secure and healthy

Question 37

What was the separate system

Answer 37

An attempt to reform prisoners through isolation, religious teaching and productive work

Question 38

How many prisons were using the separate system by 1850

Answer 38

Over 50, however it was very expensive

Question 39

What was the silent system

Answer 39

An attempt to deter prisoners from reoffending by making prison life as harsh as possible. Silence was enforced and the system depended on fear and hatred. This was cheaper however prisoners often turned insane or committed

Question 40

What were the main areas of the first Prisons Act

Answer 40

Hard labour, hard fare and hard board

Question 41

What were the main areas of the second Prisons Act

Answer 41

Placed all prisons under Home Office Control

Question 42

What was the borstal system in the 20th century

Answer 42

An educational system focused on routine and discipline set up for young offenders

Question 43

When were borstals abolished

Answer 43

1982

Question 44

What were borstals replaced with

Answer 44

Short sentences at youth detention centres

Question 45

What are open prisons

Answer 45

When inmates are instead put to work on farms /making boots

Question 46

What are other alternative methods of punishment

Answer 46

Probation and parole, community service