Description
Book SynopsisA brand new book by eminent legal biographer and historian John Hostettler. Hard on the heels of his acclaimed work with Richard Braby on Sir William Garrow, comes a further text on one of crime and punishments under-recorded and maybe unsung heroes. In eighteenth century continental Europe penal law was barbaric. Gallows were a regular feature of the landscape, branding and mutilation common and there existed the ghastly spectacle of men being broken on the wheel. To make matters worse, people were often tortured or put to death for minor crimes (sometimes both) and often without any trial at all. Like a bombshell, a book entitled On Crimes and Punishments, exploded onto the scene in 1764 with shattering effect. Its author was a young nobleman named Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794). A central message of that - now classic - work were that such punishments were part of 'a war of nations against their citizens' and should be abolished. It was a cri de coeur for thorough reform of the law affecting punishments and it swept across the continent of Europe like wildfire, being adopted by one ruler after another. It even crossed the Atlantic to the new United States of America, in the hands of Thomas Jefferson. In a wonderful sentence which concludes Beccaria's book, he sums up matters as follows: 'In order that every punishment may not be an act of violence, committed by one man or by many against a single individual, it ought to be above all things public, speedy, necessary, the least possible in the given circumstances, proportioned to its crime [and] dictated by the laws'. A welcome addition to the Waterside Press list of biographical and historical works, this new book on Cesare Beccaria - targeted to highlight matters of both universal and current relevance - will be of considerable interest to anyone wishing to trace the development of the rights of individuals charged with or convicted of crimes, and of the importance of fairness, proportionality, decency and similar matters which may be at-risk in the wrong hands. Civilising penal law remains a topical issue but it began with the subject of this work.
Table of ContentsPreface About the author 1. A Modest Man Crime and Punishment House Arrest Academy of Fists Thomas Jefferson A Changing World Retribution Break with Friends Death 2. Secret Accusations and Torture The Effects of Secrecy Torture a MercyA" Trial by Ordeal Consecrated Cruelty Bentham on Torture Voltaire 3. The Death Penalty Ancient Origin War Against Citizens Deprivation of Liberty Judicial Murder Acceptance in Continental Europe Impact in England The Rev. Martin Madan Archdeacon Paley Criminal Law Commissioners 4. Criminal Law and Punishments Reform of Criminal Justice Penal Law The Origins of Punishments and the Right to Punish Interpretation of the Law Consequences Spirit of the Law Obscurity of the Law The Division of Punishments Crimes of High Treason Voltaire Personal Security The Purpose of Punishment Prompt Punishment Public Tranquility Pleas of the Crown and Confessions 5. Crimes Difficult to Prove and Others Presumptions Adultery Homosexuality Infanticide Suicide Voltaire on Suicide Smuggling Bankruptcy Leading Questions Oaths Sanctuaries Extradition 6. Various Topics and Imprisonment Prosecutions and Prescriptions Criminal Attempts Accomplices Evidence and Proofs of a Crime Witnesses William Garrow Imprisonment John Howard Voltaire 7. Other Punishments Crimes of Violence Punishment of Nobles Theft and Robbery Ill-repute Rewards for Detaining or Killing Criminals Criminal Procedure Voltaire Mildness of Punishments The Means of Preventing Crimes Science Magistrates Certainty of Punishments-Pardons False Ideas of Utility Family Spirit Voltaire's Commentary 8. Profound Impact The French Revolution and Adversary Trial Human Rights and Voltaire's Causes Celebres John Adams 9. Conclusion Success Revolution England Conclusion Select Bibliography Index
