Search results for ""Author Gregory J Durston""

Book SynopsisStudents of English history will have heard how benefit of clergy and the 'neck verse' might avoid a hanging, but what of other stratagems such as down-valuing stolen goods, cruentation, chance medley, pious perjury or John at Death (a non-existent culprit blamed by the accused and treated by juries as real); all devices used to mitigate the all-pervading death-for-felony rule. Together with other artifices deployed by courts to circumvent black-letter law the author also describes how poor, marginalised and illiterate citizens were those most likely to suffer unfairness, injustice and draconian punishment. He also describes the political intrigue and widescale corruption that were symptomatic of the era, alongside such diverse aspects as forfeiture of property, evidential ploys, the rise of the highwayman, religious persecution, witchcraft and infanticide crazes. At a time of shifting allegiances - and as Crown, church, judges, magistrates and officials wrestled over jurisdiction, central or local control, 'ungodly customs', laws of convenience or malleable definitions - never perhaps were facts or law so expertly engineered to justify or defend often curious outcomes.Trade Review'Interest never flags in this mammoth survey of the criminal justice system in England... an accessible and readable survey of a "transitional" era in which many major changes to the criminal justice system between 1485 and 1603 were "spontaneous".'-- Nicholas Goodman, Law Society Gazette; 'Many books about history simply present the bare facts. What is notable about this work is that though we are given an account of the legal and social processes, they are usually followed by examples, often entertaining, of their application. It makes the work highly readable. It is a weighty tome, but both enlightening and enjoyable.'-- Gordon Cropper, The Monitor.Table of ContentsPART 1 - PRELIMINARY MATTERS; Introduction; Setting the Scene; The Quest for Order; PART 2 - ENTERING THE CRIMINAL-JUSTICE SYSTEM; Policing; The Justices of the Peace; The Coroner and his Inquest; Entering the Criminal-Justice System; PART 3 - PROSECUTION, THE COURTS, TRIAL, AND PUNISHMENT; Methods of Prosecution for Felony; The Criminal Courts; Lesser Courts; Trial on Indictment; Punishment; PART 4 - AVOIDING THE DEATH-FOR-FELONY RULE; Sanctuary and Abjuration; Down-valuing and Lesser Verdicts; Benefit of Clergy, Pregnancy, and Pardons; PART 5 - CRIME; Homicide and Violence; Infanticide and Abortion; Sexual Offences; Property Crime; General Conclusion. Frequently Used Acronyms. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisAs the author notes, `The early-modern European witch-hunts were neither orchestrated massacres nor spontaneous pogroms. Alleged witches were not rounded up at night and summarily killed extra-judicially or lynched as the victims of mob justice. They were executed after trial and conviction with full legal process'. In this concise but highly-informed account of the persecution of witches, Gregory Durston demonstrates what a largely ordered process was the singling-out or hunting-down of perceived offenders. How a mix of superstition, fear, belief and ready explanations for ailments, misfortune or disasters caused law, politics and religion to indulge in criminalisation and the appearance of justice. Bearing echoes of modern-day `othering' and marginalisation of outsiders he shows how witchcraft became akin to treason (with its special rules), how evidentially speaking storms, sickness or coincidence might be attributed to conjuring, magic, curses and spells. All this reinforced by examples and detailed references to the law and practice through which a desired outcome was achieved. In another resonance with modern-times the author shows how decisions were often diverted into the hands of witch-hunters, witch-finders (including self-appointed Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins), witch-prickers and other experts as well as the quaintly titled `cunning-folk' consulted by prosecutors and `victims'. Crimen Exceptum (crimes apart). A straightforward and authoritative guide. Shows the rise and fall of prosecutions. Backed by a wealth of learning and research.Trade Review'An excellent overall history of English witch trials replete with fascinating examples drawn from pamphlets and trial records. The book is written in fluid prose, understandable to the legal layperson. I cannot recommend Crimen Exceptum highly enough to anyone interested in the factual background to witchcraft prosecutions in England.'-- Catherine Meyrick, author of historical fiction; 'Presented in an accessible fashion... good and evenhanded discussions of some technical issues. Durston also makes good use of early eighteenth-century newspaper reports about witchcraft, a source hitherto little drawn on by historians of witchcraft.'-- Social History.Table of ContentsFrequently Used Acronyms; Historical Background; Candidates for Witch-hood; A Witch's Career; Living With the Witch; The Witchcraft Statutes; Entering the Criminal Justice System; Specialist Tests for Witchcraft; Trial and Punishment; Late-Jacobean and Caroline Prosecutions; The Civil War and Interregnum; From the Restoration to Abolition; Conclusion; Select Bibliography; Index

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Book SynopsisA fresh perspective on a crucial time for courts, policing and punishment. Shows how individuals, concerned parties and vested interests drove many of the era's developments. A colourful account, which captures the essence of the period. Running to nearly 700 pages, this comprehensive work on the development of summary jurisdiction, early policing and the emergence of London's embryonic modern criminal justice system looks at every aspect of these topics from numerous perspectives and across the eighteenth century. The 'whores' and 'highwaymen' of Gregory Durston's title are just some of the dubious characters met within this absorbing work, including thief-takers, trading justices, an upstart legal profession whose lower orders developed various ways to line their own pockets and magistrates and clerks who often preferred dealing with those cases which attracted fees. The book shows how little was planned by government or the authorities, and how much sprang up due to the efforts of individuals-so that the origins of social control, particularly at a local level, had much to do with personal ideas of morality, class boundaries and perceived threats, serious and otherwise. Based on news reports, Old Bailey and local archives, and other solid records the book weaves a compelling picture of a critical time in English history, through the voices of contemporary observers as well as the best of writings by experts ever since. At its broadest point, the book spans the period from the Glorious Revolution to the early 1820s. It falls into three parts: Crime and the Metropolis-including Metropolitan crime, attitudes to crime and policing, explanations for crime, and criminal law and procedure. Policing-including policing the metropolis, constables, the watch, beadles, the role of the military, and the detection of crime. Justice-including the magistracy and its work, ways of prosecution, trial in the lower and higher courts, and the penal regimes of the day. Whores and Highwaymen concentrates on the Metropolis but also compares other parts of England and Wales.Trade Review'A very-well-researched and readable book... a bit of a romp' - Law Society Gazette; 'A monumental work on crime and justice in eighteenth century London... treasures are contained in its 668 pages' - John Hostettler, Legal Historian and author.Table of ContentsPart One: Crime and the Metropolis; Part Two: Policing; Part Three: Justice.

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