The Bloody Code in England and Wales, 1760–1830 (World Histories of Crime, Culture and Violence)

This book is a comparative quantitative analysis of the administration of justice across four English and three Welsh counties between 1760 and 1830. Drawing on a dataset of over 22,000 indictments, the book explores the similarities and differences between how the so-called Bloody Code was administered between, on the one hand, England and Wales, and, on the other, individual English and Welsh counties. The book is structured in two sections that trace the criminal justice process in England and Wales respectively. The first chapter in each section examines the pattern of indictments in the respective counties, and explores the crimes for which men and women were indicted, the verdicts handed down, and the sentences passed. The second chapter then explores patterns of sentences of death, executions and pardons for those capitally convicted of serious crimes against the person and forms of property offences. This book is a comparative quantitative analysis of the administration of justice across four English and three Welsh counties between 1760 and 1830. Drawing on a dataset of over 22,000 indictments, the book explores the similarities and differences between how the so-called Bloody Code was administered between, on the one hand, England and Wales, and, on the other, individual English and Welsh counties. Following the introduction, the book is structured in two main sections that trace the criminal justice process in England and Wales respectively. The first chapter in each section examines the pattern of indictments in the respective counties, and explores the crimes for which men and women were indicted, the verdicts handed down, and the sentences passed. The analysis then turns to the patterns of sentences of death, executions and pardons for those capitally convicted of serious crimes against the person and forms of property offences. .-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiii Introduction (John Walliss)....Pages 1-10 Front Matter ....Pages 11-11 The Criminal Justice Process in Georgian England (John Walliss)....Pages 13-50 “The Lottery of Justice”: The Bloody Code in England, 1760–1830 (John Walliss)....Pages 51-85 Front Matter ....Pages 87-87 Crime and Justice in the Courts of Great Sessions: The Brecon Circuit 1760–1830 (John Walliss)....Pages 89-123 A Land of White Gloves? Life and Death in Georgian Wales (John Walliss)....Pages 125-163 Conclusion (John Walliss)....Pages 165-173 Back Matter ....Pages 175-176