Punishment in c1700-1900 Flashcards
Bloody Code- flaws
- By 1688 the number of crimes that carried the death penalty increased to 50
- By 1765 to 160 crimes
- By 1810, this increased to 222 crimes
- During the early part of the C19th the BC was increasingly questioned
- Wanted more effective punishments
Transportation to Australia:
- After 1783, after the War of Independence. England lost these colonies
- Instead sent to Australia which had been claimed as a part of the British Empire in 1710
- More humane alternative to death penalty
- 160,000 people transported to Australia 1 in 6 were women
What were the practical advantages of transportation?
- British prisons were not designed to hold the large numbers of criminals being convicted
- Prisoners would help populate the new colony-help Britain secure ownership.
When was transportation ended?
1868
What were attitudes about transportation in Australia?
- Many people believed ex-convicts were responsible for high crime in Australian towns
- Free settlers said that convict workers meant fewer jobs. Employers could pay lower wages overall
What were attitudes about transportation in Britain?
- It was inhumane or too lenient
- Australia was a desirable place to live- not a punishment
- Costs of running prison colony in Australia
4.More prison places at home, less need for transportation
Large crowds and execution:
- Executions were supposed to be spectacle to be feared
- Some employers allowed workers time off to attend
- Treated as festive occasions
What were some concerns surrounding public executions?
- Those condemned to death should have dignity
- Crowd was often disorderly
- Fun not solemn
- Treat the condemned as heroes
- Provided opportunities for crimes like pickpocketing and prostitution
When were public executions stopped?
1868
Changing roles of prisons:
- In C18th and C19th the use of imprisonment as a punishment grew
- The decline of the BC and concerns about transportation meant by the mid-19th century prison was viewed as a suitable alternative
What were common views about prison?
- Opportunity for rehabilitation
- Prison term should deter others from crime
- Include hard work to pay back society
- Made society safer
What was a common form of hard labour?
- Treadwheel
- Walked up the wheel for ten minutes before next 20 minutes
- Did this for 8 hours
- Walked 2.5km in every shift
- Stood in booths no there was no communication
- Power was sometimes used for pumping water
John Howard reforms and attitudes:
- Outraged by Bedfordshire county gaol
- Criminals will only change if given a reasonable standard of living
- Makes visits to individual gaolers around the country to persuade them to improve
- Concerned some prisoners cannot afford their release fee, so in 1774 he campaigned that prisoners who finish their sentence be released
- Recommended clean, decent food, Christian teaching, private cells, a wage for gaolers so they won’t exploit prisoners
Elizabeth Fry reforms and attitudes:
- At 18 she did charity work, helping the poor, sick and prisoners
- In 1813, visits Newgate prison and is shocked by conditions. Live with dangerous criminals
- Teaches sewing and leads Bible classes at Newgate
- 1817, Association for the Reformation of Female Prisoners at Newgate to campaign for better conditions
- Female wardens with women and children
- Organises prison education for women at Newgate
Timeline of Prisons from 1815-30:
1815- Gaolers paid out of local rates (taxes)
1816- First national prison opens at Millbank, London
1823- Prisoners held in categories like violent, non-violent, women, children
1830- Central government starts to pay some of the cost of local prisons
Timeline of Prisons from 1825-77:
1835- Gaols Act introduces inspection of prisons
1850- National Prison Department takes overall control of prison system
1865- Prisons Act all prisons must follow national rules work and live in harsh conditions
1877- All prisoners are brought under government authority
