Nature of punishment Flashcards
Trial
A way of determining someone’s guilt for a crime
Trial by jury in medieval era
Guilt was decided by a group of men in a jury
Reliant on the person’s character
Trial by ordeal in medieval era
If jury couldn’t decide, guilt was determined by completion of a physical task
Who’s outcome was supposedly decided by god
Types of trial by ordeal
Trial by cold water
Trial by hot iron
Trial by hot water
Trial by blessed bread
Trial by cold water
Used for men
Where you’d be lowered into a lake by being tied to a rope
If you sunk, you were innocent as the holy ‘pure’ water accepted you
But float = rejection
Trial by hot water
Used for men
Put hand in boiling water to pick up object at bottom
If it had healed after a few days = god had helped you = innocent
Trial by hot iron
Used for women
Holds hot iron
Bandaged hand up
If healed = god helped = innocent
Trial by blessed bread
Used for priests
Other priest says prayer that they will choke on the bread if they lie
So if they choke = lied = guilty
Types of punishment
Corporal
Capital
Exclusion
Compensatory
Corporal
Inflicting pain/ mutilation on body
Capital
Execution
Exclusion
Removing someone from society
Compensatory
Paying money to compensate victim of state
Purpose of punishment
Deterrence
Reform
Maintain the law
Protection
Retribution
Deterrence
Showing consequences to stop others from doing the crime
Reform
Reform characters of defenders to prevent crime happening in the first place
Protection
Protect rest of society from criminale
Retribution
Give offenders what they deserve for the crimes they caused
Punishments in medieval era
Fines
Whipping
Stocks and pillory
Mutilation
Execution
Imprisonment
Fines in medieval era
Fines to the victim if still alive/family
Or paid to the Norman crown
Whipping in medieval era
Happened in public to deter others
Stock and pillory in medieval era
Publicly confining someone to the stand in public
So public could humiliate them
Used for deterrence
Mutilation in medieval era
Cutting off body extremities for regular offenders
Execution in medieval era
Being hanged, buried alive, thrown off cliffs or burnt
For the most serious crimes
Imprisonment in medieval era
Bad conditions
For debtors and people awaiting for trial
Stocks and in early modern era
For petty crimes:
Runaway servants
Drunk people
Vagrants
Pillory in early modern era
For slightly more serious crimes:
Sexual misconduct
Perjury
But also not so:
Cheating at cards
Execution in early modern era
For major crimes:
Murder
Treason
Arson
Punishment in early modern era for vagabonds
Whipping
Burning with hot iron
Branded with a V
1572 vagabonds act
Idle poor people over 14 years old can have corporal punishment
Eg burnt with right ear and whipped
Tyburn tree
Used during early industrial era to hang multiple offenders at once in public
Transportation in industrial era
Sending prisoners overseas to colonies
Started off in America then to Australia
Why was transportation implemented?
If hanging was too harsh
Builds up the empire
Prevented prison overcrowding
Gives prisoners fresh start and hard work to reform
Protects british society
Why did transportation to America stop?
USA won war of independence
So couldn’t transport them in the empire
After transportation to America stop, how were prisoners dealt with?
Kept temporarily in hulks
Hulks
Disused war ships being repurposed to hold criminals
Following end of transportation to USA meaning overcrowded prisons
Conditions on hulks
Health + sanitary conditions = very poor
Frequent riots and disorder
Meany prisoners died
Typical day on a prison hulk
Wake up at 5:30
Breakfast at 6
Leave ship at 7
Laborious unskilled work eg carrying coal or building forts
Transportation to Australia
Following colonisation of Australia
To begin this again as hulks were ineffective and overcrowded
Conditions for transported prisoners in Australia?
Farm workers = remote so master could be harsh
Domestic = good because treated as family member
Labour gangs = bad
Why were reasons for end of transportation in Australia?
Not enough of a deterrent
Very expensive
Australians didn’t like country being dumping ground for criminale
How did transportation to Australia eventually end?
New South Wales stopped accepting convicts
So transported to other areas
But they stopped accepting = no more
Early industrial era prison use
For holding offenders awaiting trial
Mostly debtors as well
Why did debtors hold the majority for prisoners in early industrial era?
Because to leave they had to pay a fee
Couldn’t afford as they were already in debt
Why did prison reform happen in industrial era?
Influence of prison reformers
End of transportation
Change in public attitudes
Change in gov attitudes
Debates on prisoner treatment
Prison reformer: John Howard proposals
More spacious + hygienic buildings
Better salaries for people in charge of prison
Training prisoners for useful labour + reformation
Inspect prisons
What did prison reformer John Howard achieve?
MPs passed:
Gaol fever bill = regular cleaning of prisons + inspection
Remove jail release fee
Prison reformer: George O Paul proposals
Bill to ensure prisons have:
Security = staff can see what happens
Health = new prisoners must be washed. Have exercise regularly
Separate prisons based on crimes, gender.
What did prison reformer George O Paul achieve?
Badgered Parliament to pass his bill which they did
What was Elizabeth fry’s prison reform group?
Association for the improvement of women prisons in new state
Prison reformer: Elizabeth Fry proposals
Female wardens at female prison not men
Schools created for them and their children
Regular work eg needlework
What did prison reformer Elizabeth fry achieve?
Ladies prison committee visits prisons and makes changes
Newsgate prison conditions improved
Effected other prisons too
Ending of transportation effect on prison reform
Government was forced to find a new solution to housing criminals as transportation abolished
Changing of public attitudes on prison reform?
Concern over bloody code = capital crimes reduced
So criminals had to be put in prison
Changing of government attitudes on public reform?
Began passing more prison acts
Took more humanitarian responses to multiple different issues
Debates on how to treat prisoners effect on prison reform?
Debates on what system to use in prison to reform the criminal eg silent or separate system
So prisons began adopting different methods
Separate system
Reforming prisoners through isolation. Believed that:
More likely to breakdown = more ready to listen to religious teaching
Exercised, prayed, ate separately
Silent system
Make prisoners work in absolute silence in unpleasant conditions
Did laborious tasks
Treadmill use in silent system
Run for 10 mins, break for 10 mins
Repeat
The crank use in silent system
Turn handle in the cell 1000 times a day
Oakumpicking in silent system
Cleaning rope from ships covered in tar
Shot drill in silent system
Exercise by passing heavy cannon ball up and down line of prisoners
Gaols act 1823 points
Prison in every county paid by local taxes
JPs inspect prisons + report
System of discipline for prisoners
Had to be secure + healthy
Gaoler received salary
Separated by age and gender
How did Gaols act of 1823 improve prison conditions?
Prevent overcrowding = distribution of prisons across country
MPs aware of prison conditions
Prevented inmate violence
Cleaner well ventilated
Protect inmates from certain demographics
Gaolers take job more seriously
Prison acts of 1865 and 1877
Due to increasing government influence
Made prisons under home office control and have stricter rules
Prison act 1865
Confirmed prisons as punishment not reform
Hard Labour
Hard flat board beds
Corporal punishment for misdemeanours
More prisons under gov control
Prison act 1877
Central organisation of whole system
All prison under home office control
Committee runs all prisons in UK
Borstals in 20th century
A place for young offenders focusing on reformation
Through strict discipline and a bit of corporal punishment
Why were borstals set up?
Change in attitude to favour reformation in young people
Experiment on young offenders showed this to be preferred method
1908 prevention of crime act
Set up borstals for young offenders
When was corporal punishment abolished in borstals?
1962
When were borstals abolished?
1982
Where did young offenders go after borstals were abolished?
Youth detention centres then supervision period
Young offenders institution for more serious crimes
Open prisons
For category D prisoners who were trusted not to escape
Could work in local community
More freedoms
Focus on learning skills to implement back into society
Why did 20th/21st century want to find alternatives to prison?
Because prisons were overcrowding
Contemporary alternatives to prison
Probation
Suspended prison sentences
Parole
Community service
Electronic tagging
Probation
Offender allowed in society
Followed orders
Met with parole officer
Attend courses for help
Suspended prison sentences
Not go to prison immediately
But follow set rules
If not comply = prison
Parole
Let out of prison early and follow probation rules
Community service
Unpaid work to benefit the community
Eg litter picking, graffiti removal, gardening
Abolition of corporal punishment in 20th century
Following a change of attitude from people as it was a medieval punishment
Belief it was too tough
Abolition of capital punishment in 20th century
More popular idea mid 1900s
Following cases of people who received it that weren’t justified
Rode to end of capital punishment
1957 = only for 5 forms of murder
1965 = introduction of act to abolish death penalty
1969 = act made permanent
Pros of capital punishment
Dead murderers can never recommit
Satisfies victims families
In retribution
Reformation not certain
Not fair to pay to keep them in prison
Cons of capital punishment
Someone can be falsely accused
DNA not fool proof
Doesn’t help giving families
Costs more
Reformation can work
Crimes of passion
Examples of continuity in methods of punishment
Use of prison has began forever yet developed
Use of curfews reintroduced from medieval era
Corporal + capital punishment remained for majority of eras
