It was my pleasure to once again welcome MIKE DAVIES, chairman of the Rayleigh Town Museum.
Last November, Mike took time out to look at how some crimes were dealt with by the authorities here in times past.
On that occasion we more or less restricted ourselves to lesser crimes with appropriately less gruesome consequences but today, Mike turned his attention to some of the rather more serious crimes and the consequences that might befall you if you were unfortunate enough to be convicted.
But it turned out that during the times that the Puritans were in charge in the mid 1600’s you might find yourself thrown into prison for maybe just living a little and having a bit of fun so swearing, drinking and having sex outside marriage, playing sport or games and drinking on a Sunday, or even celebrating May Day could see you incarcerated.
And the prisons in those days were no picnic!
Prior to 1770, prisons were generally holding stations before trial – 14 in London alone were designated by different crime types.
With no rules as to how they should be run, towns and counties could do basically what they wanted, so around a quarter of prisoners died of diseases like Typhus.
Wealthier prisoners could pay the Gaoler, many of whom were corrupt, for beds, blankets and better food.
Generally criminals were considered to be hopeless cases and best dealt with either by execution or transportation but from the late 18th century, people like John Howard, Elizabeth Fry and Samuel Romilly, outraged by the unsanitary and overcrowded conditions pushed for reforms, such as introducing payment for prison jailers, better segregation of inmates with men, women, murderers, smugglers, thieves and children all thrown in together.
Eventually children were moved out to newly introduced borstals.
During the period of the BLOODY CODE and to prevent prison overcrowding, many judges favoured transportation as an alternative to imprisonment or the death penalty.
THE BLOODY CODE was the name given to the the English legal system by the late 1700’s when over 220 different crimes could attract the death penalty, including cutting down a tree, stealing from a rabbit warren and even being out at night with a blackened face!!!!
So from about 1654 some convicts were TRANSPORTED to the colonies rather than face execution. Sentences were generally for periods of 7 or 14 years, or even life.
Transportation to America ended in 1776 but started to Australia in 1787 and was often used against people convicted of theft.
Most were repeat offenders.
Others facing transportation were protesters such as LUDDITES, REBECCA RIOTERS (involving tenant farmers in Wales protesting about toll fees applied to road users) and, of course, THE TOLPUDDLE MARTYRS.
But then there were the really big crimes such as TREASON!
HIGH TREASON included counterfeiting money or “coining” (the clipping of coins for pieces of silver and gold which were melted down to produce counterfeit coins), possession of coining equipment and colouring base metal coins (to pass them off as of higher value).
Commoners convicted of treason were HUNG, DRAWN and QUARTERED – and because it was considered to be a deterrent, until 1868 this punishment was held in public drawing large crowds – but women were spared this punishment, since it would have involved nudity!
Amazingly there’s a pub bearing that name in Great Tower Street, adjacent to the Tower of London, where it’s believed that over 100 unfortunates are believed to have been executed!
The method employed would have involved being hanged, but then cut down whilst still alive, after which felons would be disembowelled, before being beheaded and their body would then be chopped into four parts (hence the term ‘quartered’). The traitor’s lands and money would be confiscated by the monarch. Guy Fawkes was sentenced to be executed in this way, but avoided it by breaking his neck by throwing himself from the platform in January 1606.
Royalty were beheaded, usually with an axe. Mary Queen of Scots was executed in this way in 1587.
The types of execution employed often depended on the class of the person scheduled to meet their end.
The Upper class would be beheaded, others less fortunate could expect to be hung/drawn and quartered or burned alive.
By the early 19th century the death penalty was removed for a number of crimes — pickpocketing, forgery and rape and by 1861 capital crimes were reduced to—murder/treason, espionage, arson in a Royal dockyard!! And piracy (with violence).
Coming rather more up to date, the death penalty for murder was suspended for 5 years from 1965 and made permanent in 1969 but it was not until 1998 that the death penalty in Britain was finally abolished for all crimes.
You can listen again here to what Mike had to say on this subject in all its gory detail here: –
Although I was amazed, and indeed horrified to hear that until the early part of the 19th century, that the death penalty could be imposed for pickpocketing, it seems that in some country’s even today, horrendous punishments can seemingly be handed down for what to my mind are seemingly minor offences.
For example it has just been reported that North Korean leader, KIM JONG-UN has decreed that anyone caught eating Hot Dogs, or even serving or preparing them at home, will be considered to have engaged in an act of treason.
It seems that this type of food is regarded as an invasion of western culture.
Therefore anyone convicted of this offence will likely end up in a nice comfortable labour camp.
But it’s not just food with suspected western overtones that could get you consigned to one of these luxurious idyllic camps.
Applying for, and being granted, a divorce could have similar repercussions as splitting up is frowned upon as an “anti-socialist” activity.
Those participating in such procedures run the risk of being threatened with public humiliation and expulsion from the Korean Workers Party – horror horrors!
Until recently only the person actually filing for divorce would be considered to be guilty of an offence, but just recently following a hearing at the KIMJONGSUK COUNTY PEOPLE’S COURT, after 12 divorce decrees were granted, all those involved were promptly arrested and transferred to the county labour training camp.
And don’t even think about celebrating Christmas, as that might well guarantee you an early execution.
Gosh don’t you wish you lived in North Korea amongst their freedom loving masses?
So long as I don’t fall foul of any unknown laws, I very much hope to have your company once again tomorrow,
Scott