Horseflesh Trial

“But indeed, at that time, putting to death was a recipe much in vogue with all trades and professions, and not least of all with Tellson’s. Death is Nature’s remedy for all things, and why not the Legislation’s? Accordingly, the forger was put to Death; the utterer of a bad note was put to Death; the unlawful opener of a letter was put to Death; the purloiner of forty shillings and sixpence was put to Death; the holder of a horse at Tellson’s door, who made off with it, was put to Death; the coiner of a bad shilling was put to Death; the sounders of three-forths of the notes in the whole gamut of Crime, were put to Death” (39).

“Twelve are already executed; the names of these seven are given out, and the village expects to see the die this morning. Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.”(131).

In the prologue, Fellows encourages me to “Think of the most wretched day of my [your] life…”He follows this statement by describing one of the many horrible events that he himself experienced during his time in Band Kwang prison. Fellows uses similes to describe a cell mates affliction, stating “…the wound opened up like a new flower…hundreds of tiny worm-like creatures, wriggling and oozing out like spaghetti.” This event is described as inhuman and horrifying, something that no human should ever have the misfortune to witness. In this way, these similes have been employed to shape my view that Fellows was an innocent victim that should never have had to undergo the punishment forced upon him. Fellows has constructed himself with the use of these similes in an attempt to shape my views and opinions of him, gathering sympathy and removing any and all blame from

In Jim’s case, the subject of “excitement and prejudice in the public mind” is greatly emphasized; a large amount of hype surrounded the trial, which consequently may have altered the decision made by the courts. During this time, executions were still part of a public spectacle. Stemming back to European and colonial society, executions, especially hangings, were a large form of public entertainment that brought the whole community together. In one perspective the execution may have created a hole in society, but with the development of executions as communal spectacles, the hole is mended, and instead brings the community together in a sense through the removal of a “bad” in their society. Jim’s case comes during a time in which there was a large amount of fear surrounding slave revolts- with Jim his act of violence likely sparked a sense of fear throughout his community. By deciding to sentence Jim to hanging, this would act to reassure the community with a sense of safety to enforce the superiority of the “better”

He was aware of the system in which my courthouse operates, yet his own ego had resisted signing the required confession document, leaving me no choice but to have him suspended by the gallows. This practice of punishment is, to my dismay, increasing remarkably; for I have no interest in submitting excessive numbers to capital punishment, rather, the coercion of offenders that is required to ensure the safety of my people is of utmost priority.

We discussed the recent mob uprising and the state of unrest in the community. It was the judgment of all present that the life of the defendant, even if the wrong man, could not be saved; that an appeal would so inflame the public that the jail would be attacked and perhaps other prisoners executed by violence. In the opinion of all of us a case was presented where the defendant, now that he had been convicted by a jury, must die by the judgment of the law, or else, if his case were appealed, he would die by the act of the uprising of the people (Pfeifer, “United”).

There were others with much stronger blood claims, among them Swing Estrithson, King of Denmark, who was the nephew of King Cnut; and Edgar the Atheling, grandson of Edmund Ironsides, from whom Cnut had wrested the kingdom in 1016.As a child Alfred was very sick. He suffered with a spinal defect. Often, he was too sick to attend school and was taught by tutors much of the time. He showed a natural gift for languages, acquiring them as he traveled. Despite his sickness, Alfred was a very good student who became interested in chemistry early on. Between the ages of seventeen to nineteen, he traveled to Germany, the U.S and France. His father sent him on to further education in the United States between the years 1850-1852. Eventually Immanuel had to leave Russia and head back to Stockholm because of more financial problems. He knew he would have to resolve safety problems before continuing with his research. He also needed to find a way to easily transport it and detonate the explosives. Soon Alfred discovered that if he mixed nitroglycerin with silica, it would turn the explosive into a paste which could be formed, shaped, and easily transported.

'Taylor Jones, he's a richer man than Herb Clutter ever was. Now, pretend the fellow who done it wasn't anyone from here-abouts. Pretend he'd been maybe hired to kill, and all he had was instructions on how to get to the house. Well, it would be mighty easy to make a mistake - take a wrong turn - and end up at Herb's place 'stead of Taylor's.'” (114.) Gossip spreads like wildfire, especially due to the time of year that the crime took place, “'If it was spring and work to be done, they wouldn't be here. But wheat's in, winter's on the way, they got nothing to do but sit around and scare each other.'” commented Mrs. Hartman on page 113. In addition to the gossip of motive, a topic that shattered the sense of community and safety is that the masses assumed the murderer would be a citizen of Holcomb. “Another reason, the simplest, the ugliest, was that this hitherto peaceful congregation of neighbors and old friends had suddenly to endure the unique experience of distrusting each other; understandably, they believed that the murderer was among themselves, and, to the last man, endorsed an opinion advanced by Arthur Clutter, . . .

In 1921, two Italian anarchists were declared guilty of murder of a paymaster and his guard along with armed theft in South Braintree, Massachusetts (Linder). Upon arrest, they were found to be armed with pistols. Despite having supported alibis on the day of the murder, they were still sentenced to be executed through electric chair by Judge Webster Thayer. Protests erupted around the world due to the fact that the judge’s decision had been affected by anti-radical and nativist feelings which were a result of the Red Scare.

During the 1900s in America, executions forced by law were common among prisoners. The punishments ranged from imprisonment to being hanged in public as display. Furthermore, depending on the crime committed a person was sentenced to either jail time or punishment, leading up to death. Every prisoner these days had the right to defend themselves in court till proven innocent or guilty. Unfortunately, this was not the case in Saccos and Vanzetti's trial

Humiliation, Pain and Death: The Execution of Criminals in New France,” is an article that puts

Among other things, when the banker is concluding that the lawyer will take all his money he cries,"‘Cursed bet!’ muttered the old man, clutching his head in despair ‘Why didn't the man die? He is only forty now. He will take my last penny from me, he will marry, will enjoy life, will gamble on the Exchange; while I shall look at him with envy like a beggar, and hear from him every day the same sentence: 'I am indebted to you for the happiness of my life, let me help you!' No, it is too much! The one means of being saved from bankruptcy and disgrace is the death of that man!’”(3).Two conflicts are portrayed throughout “The Bet”.Through conflict of man vs. self, the banker is pessimistic that he must somehow kill the lawyer in order to save his business from bankruptcy yet at the same time he signed the contract stating that by tomorrow at 12 o'clock the lawyer will win back his freedom and the banker will give away the two millions. When the banker and the guests are conversing upon which is more humane, capital punishment or human imprisonment at the party,“‘I don't agree with you,’ said their host the banker. ‘I have not tried either the death penalty or imprisonment for life, but if one may judge à priori, the death penalty is more moral and more humane than imprisonment for life. Capital punishment kills a man at once, but lifelong imprisonment kills him slowly. Which executioner is the more humane, he who kills you in a few minutes or he who drags the life out of you in the course of many years?’...Among the guests was a young lawyer, a young man of five-and-twenty. When he was asked his opinion, he said: ‘The death sentence and the life sentence are equally immoral, but if I had to choose between the death penalty and imprisonment for life, I would certainly choose the second. To live anyhow is better than not at all.’...‘It's not true! I'll bet you two millions you wouldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years.’ ‘If you mean that in earnest,’ said the young man,I'll take the bet, but

Some days I wonder if they miss me. Granted, what I did was unlawful and unforgivable. The trauma I have caused them is one wound that time is unable heal. I got what I deserved, and I had it coming to me. I woke up this morning to the unwelcoming voice of Garrett yelling, “Wake up maggot!” Out of muscle memory, I jolted out of bed, stood up straight and nearly saluted. It was at that moment I remembered that they did nothing better to me, just shipped me off to a third world country where I had to watch my brothers die in a senseless war. It only aided and abetted my drinking. Garrett opened my cage, letting me free for my sorrowful breakfast. Then again, if I don’t eat it it gets forced into my system through a pipe, but that

The criminal justice system of the fourteenth century was tied closely to the community. Villagers had the responsibility to insure good behaviour amongst their neighbours, through tithing groups. Detecting and preventing felonies was the responsibility of the tithing groups, through the hue. Administratively, the country was divided into shires, then hundreds, then vills or townships then tithings. Policing methods favoured the felon and keepers of the peace were one method the crown experiment with to keep order. The most common way of detecting felons was trough indictment made by villagers in the sheriff’s tourn, a corner’s inquest or an inquest of the keepers of the peace. Indictment in the sheriff’s tourn was the most common way to bring

The book The Pillars of the Earth and the song “Someone Like You” both explain Alfred’s antipathy towards everyone. In the book, Alfred’s