Justice System In The 1800s

During the Victorian Era, the court system played a prominent role in the lives of the people. Although not all directly felt the effects of the actions that took place in the courtroom, the courts and their decisions impacted the lives of everyone during the time. The Victorian Court System was very organized, and that organization shows its inspiration in modern courts. The Court System during the Victorian Era was a very prominent and organized part of society.

Imagine skipping that awkward childhood stage of life and going straight to being an adult; never having to worry about parent’s rules or curfews. But if all of a sudden, one was forced into the world of adults with the mindset of a newborn child, one would not know the difference between right and wrong and possibly even become a victim. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is the true victim of the book. He is abused in multiple ways, he does nothing to warrant the unjust treatment he receives and he is forced into solitude.

The criminal justice system used today is to follow principles that protect and establish equality for all and while the United States criminal justice system may strive to follow these right of the people, but unfortunately, this is where the system falls short of fundamental American principles. Repeatedly the criminal justice system does the adverse of what it’s supposed to do. It does not protect the many liberties the people should have. Some may argue that the criminal justice system is indeed fair for

Courts are established social, political, and judicial institutions necessary for the manifestation of justice and the maintenance of law and order. The courts are part of the judicial branch of government, as outlined in Article III of the United States Constitution. Courts are the arenas in which the law is tried and applied. Judges are the presiding officers of the court. The United States Supreme Court is the most fundamental court because has "the authority to decide the constitutionality of federal laws and resolve other disputes over them," (United States Courts, 2012). This is true even though even though the court does not expressly enforce that law; enforcement is the province of the executive branch.

The ideal of imprisonment did not exist during the colonial time. The penitentiary system was a nineteenth-century invention. The colonial, period was hierarchical, and the servants were supposed to be kept in place.

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.

Capital punishment played a pivotal role in the punishment of criminals in the early colonial period, with William Penn of Pennsylvania being the first responsible leader to utilize imprisonment as a corrective treatment for major offenders. In 1682 his “Great Law” provided the confinement of both major and minor violators of the law to be placed in houses of correction.3 There they would partake in work for moderate compensation, for a period of time proportional to their respective crimes. Soon an amendment was ratified making murder a capital offense, and remained the only capital offense until 1700 when treason could also be punished by death. Up until the death of William Penn in 1718, Pennsylvania largely relied on fines and imprisonment, shifting to a different system of criminal punishment only after the passing of Penn. Soon after conservative groups gained control, and Pennsylvania reimposed the English criminal code, which increased the number of crimes punishable by death to twelve, and allowed punishments such as whipping to be doled out. This system lasted until the post colonial age, when in 1786 the state eliminated the death penalty for robbery and burglary and subsequently only retained capital punishment for first degree murder in 1794.4 Sparking the changes was the

What differentiates Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein from the majority of horror novels are the very real and timeless themes it explores.  The overriding theme of the novel - scientific investigation without consideration of morality and responsibility is still an important topic in today’s world.  “Perhaps the reality of cloning and genetic engineering makes this theme more relevant today than when Frankenstein was first published”(Patterson). This theme, along with the more subtle themes of revenge, the inability to accept those who are different, and the inability to control one's destiny are all themes which separate Frankenstein from other novels in the genre.

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him”(UN General Assembly, 1948). But history has demonstrated that even though as human you are entitled to a fair trial, you are not entitled to justice. Throughout history, many reforms and movements have forged our judicial system, the judicial system currently is undeniably more foolproof than it was before the 1900s. Even though the system has improved in numerous ways by laws and amendments such as the 6th amendment in 1791, but history repeats itself. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and the Scottsboro Boys Trials are embodiments of this saying, they may have happened 240 years apart but have many things in common. Some things these trials have in common are insufficient evidence, unfair chances, and long term effects on the victims and community.

The criminal justice system is supposed to be fair when it comes to determining the punishments for those who commit crimes. But fairness is not always the case. Too often, people who are innocent are given punishment, people who are guilty, are set free, and there is much judgment based on sex and social rank. When people are poor, they are believed to have more of a reason to commit a crime than those who are ranked in upper class. As for unfairness when it comes to sex, the justice system is built on males, especially back in the day, when men were seen as higher up than females. The unjustness of the criminal justice system is brought to attention in Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein.” In the novel, three different murders take place

With too many citizens being sentenced to undeserved criminal punishments simply due to their uncontrollable characteristics such as sex and race where parts of peoples lives are permanently taken away never to be made up for. With this, a change in the current court system must be done. Whenever a trial provides information other than the necessary facts for a a jury to take in, it takes away from the right to an impartial trial. With an unbiased jury a fair trial is possible; however, with a majority of Americans holding some form of preconceived notion about certain characteristics, it is impossible for an individual to receive an impartial jury.

After the World War II, the Congress failed to pass laws to give justice to American citizens. After many unfair rulings by the court, the American citizens noticed that the court wasn’t dispensing justice fairly to everyone.

In “Frankenstein” penned by Mary Shelley, the author depicts the roles of Caroline, Elizabeth, and Justine as passive women by taking action only through the men around them. During the 1820s, when Elizabeth Blackwell saw the deaths of many people on ships being thrown overboard, she became inspired to become a doctor. However, during her time period, women were not allowed to get an education. Finally, Mulan, takes the place of her old father to join the Chinese army, despite her passiveness. A closer look at the roles of Caroline, Elizabeth, Justine, Mulan, and Elizabeth Blackwell reveal a time period where women were treated as objects and followers by men.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has many main ideas, whether it's about injustice, feminism, parental responsibility, the danger of too much knowledge, the cost of revenge, the relationship between man and God, etc., they all serve a certain purpose. Out of all of those main ideas, the one that sticks out the most is injustice. Injustice comes from the Latin phrase that represents “not right”, and it is the practice of being unjust or unfair (Injustice - Dictionary Definition). Throughout the book, Mary Shelley wanted to show that injustice is caused due to the fear of what is different (“Shelley, Mary - Justice and Injustice”). Many characters in this story all have different characteristics, whether it is due to their look, personality, childhood, current situations, and more. A lot of the characteristics that differ from each other have led to many injustice situations. Even though injustice might not always be bad, many examples of unnecessary injustice are shown throughout “Frankenstein” due to undeserving punishment, violating the rights of others, and unfair treatment.

The Justice system in the United States is flawed, and this book does a good at showing that. Like you I was pretty unaware about the biases of laws and how unfair they were to a certain group of people. Most people are unaware of how broken the system is, and they do not see how much hardship some people have to face. The problem with solving the issue of felons or ‘the box’ is that most people do not know of it, or are not affected by it. This book does a great job at bringing awareness to these social issues.