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SOLON Law, Crime and History (previously SOLON Crimes and Misdemeanours: Deviance and the Law in Historical Perspective)

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The changing presentation of punishment, in particular execution, has been at the heart of much criminal historiography. However, little work has been done to examine the transition outside of London. Newcastle offers a fascinating perspective on any national picture of capital punishment, as it adopted changes far later than most, including close neighbours like Durham. This article questions why so late a transition occurred and what the motivating factors were. Focusing on executions between 1844 and 1863 it will show that far from being led by London, the decisions were largely reactive to immediate crises, chief amongst them an unruly crowd, and not underpinned by any ideological bent. In short, it will argue for caution in speaking of a unified national change in punishment when even to speak of a regional one is problematic.

Publication Date

2018-01-01

Publication Title

SOLON Law, Crime and History

Volume

8

Issue

1

First Page

38

Last Page

52

ISSN

2045-9238

Deposit Date

June 2016

Embargo Period

2024-10-29

Creative Commons License

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

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