The Bloodiest Code: Counting Executions and Pardons at the Old Bailey, 1730-1837

Authors

Simon Devereaux, University of Victoria

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article presents the most detailed and accurate accounting to date of capital convicts at the Old Bailey during the era of England's 'Bloody Code' (1730-1837), at which time that court produced more capital convictions and executions than any other jurisdiction in the western world. It notes and explains some limitations of the two most authoritative sources for the statistics of capital punishment at the Old Bailey currently available: the published trial Proceedings of the court; and the statistical returns presented to Parliament from 1818 onwards. And it reviews the sorts of criteria that need to be considered in determining how a more complete accounting of all those condemned and executed might be achieved.

Publication Date

2016-01-01

Publication Title

SOLON Law, Crime and History

Volume

6

Issue

1

First Page

1

Last Page

36

ISSN

2045-9238

Deposit Date

April 2017

Embargo Period

2024-10-23

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Devereaux, Simon (2016) "The Bloodiest Code: Counting Executions and Pardons at the Old Bailey, 1730-1837," SOLON Law, Crime and History (previously SOLON Crimes and Misdemeanours: Deviance and the Law in Historical Perspective): Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/solon/vol6/iss1/2