Exam 1

Question 1

Hammurabi Code

Answer 1

(c.1750): an ancient Mesopotamian (Babylonian) law code which constitutes one of the first written law codes in recorded history, and which favoured strict justice and retribution (an eye for an eye), especially for women and the poor.

Question 2

10 Commandments

Answer 2

an Ancient Hebrew series of ethical and moral laws which form the basis of legal systems throughout much of the world.

Question 3

Draco

Answer 3

a 7th century B.C. Athenian legislator most famous for his harsh law code, which attempted to suppress crime by imposing capital punishment for almost every offense, such as theft (steal an apple).
- Very severe, “Draconian” term > strict punishment

Question 4

Solon

Answer 4

a late 6th century B.C. Ancient Greek legislator and reformer who reduced capital punishment for only the crimes of treason and murder, and who started the first jury courts in Athens, which led to a more democratic system of justice.

Question 5

stoning

Answer 5

a form of communal punishment in which the whole community participated rather than a single individual.

Question 6

Falling

Answer 6

An Ancient Greek form of capital punishment which consisted of throwing individuals from great heights to their deaths.

Question 7

Poison

Answer 7

(ex: hemlock): a more humane form of execution made famous by the Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates.

Question 8

Augustus

Answer 8

the first Roman Emperor (27 B.C- 14 A.D), whose many accomplishments included the creation of the first police system.

Question 9

The Twelve Tables

Answer 9

a publicly displayed set of Ancient Roman laws (450 B.C) which dealt mainly with private disputes, and established the principle of equality before the law for patricians and plebeians.

Question 10

Parricide

Answer 10

a serious capital crime in which children killed their parent (s), and punishable in the Roman Empire by bounding the accused in a leather sack with a dog, snake, and rooster, which was then thrown into the river.

Question 11

Crucifixion

Answer 11

a common form of Roman execution often used for lowly criminals consisting of nailing the accused to a T or X-shaped cross, from which the victim eventually died from suffocation and hunger.

Question 12

Shire reeve

Answer 12

an early Medieval English lawman responsible for maintaining peace, enforcing laws, and collecting taxes, and the forerunner of the modern-day sheriff.

Question 13

ordeal

Answer 13

a medieval method of determining guilt or innocence for crimes such as murder used across Europe from 800-1215, which involved subjugating the accused to a painful task.

Question 14

ordeal by fire

Answer 14

a Medieval ordeal which required the accused to walk over hot coals or place an arm in boiling water, and if the wounds did not heal after 3 days, the victim was judged guilty and condemned.

Question 15

ordeal by water

Answer 15

a Medieval ordeal commonly used for the lower class in which the accused was immersed into a body of water, and found guilty if she/he floated, and deemed innocent if she/he sank to the bottom (as water was considered divine), but most likely drowned.

Question 16

ordel by battle

Answer 16

a Medieval ordeal or trail by combat which required the accused to fight (wealthy individuals could hire mercenaries), with the assumption that the innocent party would emerge the winner.

Question 17

Henry II

Answer 17

powerful Medieval English King (1154-1189) whose reign was marked by the increased power of the crown and the expansion of English common law through his introduction of travelling judges.

Question 18

Lateran Council

Answer 18

(1215)- priests were not allowed anymore to participate in ordeals.

Question 19

Magna Carta

Answer 19

(1215): a decisive step in the development of constitutional government in Medieval England, as it placed the King under the law by forcing him to consult the barons before raising taxes.

Question 20

Hanging

Answer 20

most common because it requires only a rope and it is public

Question 21

Dismemberment

Answer 21

a Medieval form of capital punishment in which the accused died of complications resulting from the forced tearing or removing limbs.

Question 22

Heresy

Answer 22

Roman Catholic Churh, the holding of religious doctrines different from the official teachings of the Church, and thereby a serious crime, punishable by death, usually by burning at the stake.

Question 23

Malleus Maleficarum

Answer 23

a late 15th c. highly influential guidebook written by the German Dominican monks Kramer and Sprenger, and supported by the Papacy about how to identify, prosecute, and punish witches, and which singled out women as the primary source of witchcraft.

Question 23

Breaking Wheel

Answer 23

a Medieval form of capital punishment in which the transgressor, after torture, was hoisted on top of a large wooden wagon wheel, and was eventually devoured by birds.

Question 24

Ducking stool

Answer 24

A chair located near a riverbank to which the accused was tied and dunked into water as punishment for minor offenses in Colonial America (ie: Virginia).

Question 24

Pillory

Answer 24

A common form of punishment for petty crimes in Colonial Virginia (and the rest of Colonial North America) consisting of the accused being placed in a wooden framework with holes for the head and arms, and thereby leaving them vulnerable to public humiliation.

Question 25

Devil’s MArk

Answer 25

a mark or skin blemish was believed to be identifying mark of a pact with Satan during the European witch craze.

Question 26

whipping post

Answer 26

the public location where criminals were whipped before the entire town

Question 27

Virginia SLave Code

Answer 27

(1705) one of the first slave codes in the American colonial South, which defined the status of slaves as racially based and as real estate (not as humans) and gave Virginia slave holders near absolute power over their “human property”.

Question 28

Tituba

Answer 28

The West Indian-born slave of the Reverend Parris family who was the first to confess to witchcraft during the 1692 Salem Witch Trials and thereby set Salem into chaos by suggesting the devil among them.

Question 29

Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne

Answer 29

a destitute woman abandoned by her husband, who smoked a pipe

Osborne - a propertied widow, with a higher social standing, who was envied, and often missed church services.

Question 30

Spectral Evidence

Answer 30

a form of evidence accepted in court during the 1692 Salem Witch Trials that was based on the dreams and visions of the witnesses (most often accusers) and visible only to them.

Question 31

Interrogations

Answer 31

aimed to obtain a confession and had no rights for a lawyer

Question 32

Infanticide

Answer 32

a capital crime rarely committed in New France consisting of the murder of a new born baby for which the penalty was death by hanging.

Question 33

MArie-Joseph Angelique

Answer 33

an 18th century black slave in New France who was convicted and executed for setting fire to her owner’s home, and burning much of what is now Old Montreal in 1734 (46 buildings).