How Is Punishment Used In The Victorian Era

Throughout the years, the use of imprisonment has varied, along with its influences of society. It is thought that although prisons have been around since the thirteenth century, prisons as we know them now to be have only been around for the last three centuries. The first uses of prisons were not seen as a form of punishment instead they were used as a way of making people do something. People would be held in prison until they paid their debts, or awaiting trial and then leading up to their sentence. McGowen (1995) suggests that from the early 1700s ‘bridewells’ a house of correction have existed, however at that time being used merely for vagrants and drunks. At the end of the sixteenth century there was a shift in punishment to imprisonment, along with this came a new, more humane idea of reform. Criminals would spend their days of prison carrying out hard labour. However after the American Revolution, imprisonment took a step back and there was another change. There was mass overcrowding within the prison service and although the death penalty was still being used it was a symbol of the power of the state. Therefore, an everyday way of dealing with offenders would be transportation to the colonies, being either Australia or America.

Crime and punishment in the 1800’s was very unlike today. Punishments were much more violent and severe back then with crime rates being high. However, a lot of the crime was unaccounted for due to how easy it was to get away with crimes back then. Compared to today, where as crime rates are increasing daily. As such, crime rates today surpass the rates in the 1800s. However, punishments are not as fatal today compared to the past. Almost all criminals in the 1800s were penalized with death in some way, typically by hanging. According to Gooii, some crimes, such as treason or murder, were considered serious crimes, but other ‘minor’ offences, such as picking pockets or stealing food, could also be punished with the death sentence.

Lastly, there was hanging. The victim was oftentimes hung alive at Tyburn in London. Big crowds would usually gather to see this happen. The criminal would stand on something, usually a ladder, which would later be removed from under them. The death punishment was the most serious punishment of them

Crime and punishment in victorian times was divergent than it is today. In victorian times , the sentencing and punishment was very stricted. The petty crimes were mostly likely sentenced to death and hung. For example, John Walker was convicted of stealing onions and was sentenced seven years for it. If anyone stole food from the grocery store in this era and got caught the store would most likely call law enforcement and give them a warning and let them go. That is very different than how they treated it in victorian times. Criminals in victorian times were treated different than they are treated today.

Crime and punishment wasn't as easy in the 1800s as it is now. This research paper will inform you about the crime and punishment in the 1800s.

Since the 19th century, law enforcement and punishment has developed rapidly into the justice system we rely on today. Obscure laws that had become irrelevant in an industrial and post-industrial era were fast being replaced, and despite its lack of existence at the beginning of the 1800’s, policing standards are, today, high. The necessity for this drastic change in approach to crime has stemmed from the needs of industrial Britain, and the increased awareness of the public, and government, and their perception of crime and punishment. Rather than individual cases having a direct impact on these changes, in general they provide an insight as to the reactions of the public at the time, and along with the myriad of other cases, allow us

* The middle class lay in the middle and was the group of people in society that had bigger better houses on their own block of land and were quite well off when it came to money and resources.

The punishments for crime in the colonial times were harsh in some cases or humiliating. Some crimes like murder, treason, or piracy,(stealing from other boats) had people sentenced to death. Crimes that cost the price of humiliation were crimes such as being drunk or working or traveling on sunday.The specific way a criminal would be punished is that

The other crimes only consisted of labor and fines as punishment. In the 1700’s jails became an extremely unsafe place. The inmates in the jails were tortured until they became insane. Later in the 1800’s, incarceration was used as punishment for individuals who committed a severe crime. However, this was an issue for the legislature because they did not want to finance the prisons.

American prison system incarceration was not officially used as the main form of punishment in United States (U.S.) until around the 1800’s. Before that time criminals were mainly punished by public shaming, which involved punishments such as being whipped, or branded (HL, 2015). In fact, President Lincoln codified the prison incarceration system in the Emancipation Proclamation that indicated no slavery would take place in America unless a person was duly convicted of a crime (paraphrased) (White, 2015). In this era prisons were used more as a place where criminals could be detained until their trial date if afforded such an opportunity. However, one of the main problems with this idea was the fact that the prisons were badly maintained, which resulted in many people contracting fatal diseases. Yet, according to White (2015) unethical and immoral medical experiments were also conducted on inmates’ leading to health failures. Moreover, because everyone was detained in the same prisons, adolescent offenders would have to share the same living space with adult felons, which became another serious problem in that adolescent were less mature and could not protect themselves in such environments

Punishments for crimes has changed tremendously from the 1800s. Crime rates began to rise because of an increase in population and wealth. Punishment has been around for thousands of years. The law originally stated that only slaves were allowed to be punished, and was later changed allowing free men to be tortured for committing crimes as well. The harsh punishments include, people getting their dominant hand cut of for stealing, and people were also burned alive. Women who committed adultery were drowned. Even the Catholic Church used torture to show they had power regardless of whether the people were guilty. Crime and punishment in the 1800s is similar and different from today because the crimes that are being committed have stayed the same where as the punishments have changed drastically.

Crime & Punishment Crimes are being committed all over the world, and come every crimes there's a punishment along with it. During the beginning of the eighteenth century, crimes were spreading across London. London was forced to pass laws and acts to prevent crimes being committed. In Victorian, London crimes were rapidly growing, while causing problems throughout the city. England was forced to build more jailhouses for men and women, and increasing the intensity of punishments.

For centuries governments have acted on behalf of society removing and punishing criminals with the goal of protecting its citizens. Criminals were arrested and locked-up in jails awaiting their sentencing. Once sentenced, they were publically humiliated, tortured, or killed. Early forms punishments were cruel and mostly focused on retribution.

Victorian Era Prison Punishments Have you ever felt over punished before? Throughout 1837 up to 1901, there were over 15 million receptions into Great Britain’s prisons. At the same time, between 1842 and 1877, 90 prisons were built in the same country. With the increasing crime number, governments wanted a way to stop them from doing it ever again. They did it as a way to say,”Hey!

Short term political factors include the result in the Slave Trade by the government and what happened because of that. The government’s response towards crimes was to make their punishments harsher, but this didn’t have the affect they wanted. Getting hung, transportation or being banished from England to one of Britain’s distant colonies, were the most common ways to be punished after committing a crime. Their plan failed immensely; hanging prisoners turned into a social event, families would come and observe, eventually turning it into a carnival-felt situation. Despite the government making their punishments harder, thinking the result would reduce the numbers, it remained the same therefore Britain’s prisons were a large concern. Convicts