Highway robbery was a growing danger in the early 1700’s at a time when punishments for theft were savage. Do you think that the bloody code played an important part in stamping out highway robbery or were other factors more important ?
Highwaymen were outlawed thieves that thrived in England during the 17th and 18th century. The name given to the time period that the crime of highway robbery was most frequent in was the « bloody code ». Modern historians assigned this name after discovering the savage law and punishment system used. There had been a significant rise in death penalties from 1688, a time when there were 50 offences punishable by death, during the bloody code there were almost 200 offences that warranted this brutal punishment. As a result of this, most notorious highwaymen were hanged as a penalty for robbing with violence. Despite being detested by the law, these men were seen as « knights of the road » or « gentlemen robbers » due to their heroic image. The danger they posed against the country, to the relief of highway travellers, eventually declined and highwaymen were stamped out. The disappearance of the treacherous outlaws can be contributed to many factors, including the severe punishments of the bloody code causing fright in England, which played an important part in the elimination.
The crime of highway robbery had existed in other time periods, it only increased during the bloody code. It most commonly occurred on well-travelled roads far from cities, with the men mounted on horses that gave them more social sophistication than foot robbers. Their glamorous reputation can be attributed to the literature that featured them, the most famous example being of the legend of Dick Turpin. He was a known as a dashing and charming ‘gentleman robber’ who was polite to all – especially women, but the truth was less appealing. Turpin was a romanticised but vile murderer, similar to the many other highwaymen at the time. Although they were admired, they were also greatly feared and people were terrified by their increasing numbers. This was caused by many factors such as the lonely open areas surroundings around towns, deal places for criminal activity. The increase of travel by coaches made people vulnerable to them and essentials such as horses and guns became cheaper to buy and easier to obtain. Poor people such as demolished soldiers turned to this way of life as their best option, being able to hide and sell their loot in taverns and there being a lack of police activity tracking the highwaymen across countries. These changes played an important part in the ascent of highway robbers but this popularity caused even more awareness of the problem. The law and the people that knew of their danger had to find a solution, be it the punishments of the bloody code or one of the many other factors that helped eradicate the highwaymen.
The Essay on Reward or punishment
“The right to life and dignity are the most important of all human rights and this must be demonstrated by the state in everything that it does, including the way it punishes criminals.” – Justice Arthur Chaskalson. The death penalty is considered, “the legal” punishment for a criminal. Although the death penalty has been used for many years, the thought of it continues to bring ...
The eighteenth-century criminal justice system or the bloody code punished cases of murder, rape and treason, and even lesser crimes such as poaching, burglary, theft and criminal damage, by death. Capital punishment was shockingly common, acts that would simply be dismissed today such as cutting down young trees, being in the company of gypsies, drinking, rioting, not attending church and begging could all be punished by death. This same punishment was used for highway robbers, execution by hanging. Dick Turpin, once again, is a well-known example of this type of punishment. He was found guilty in 1739 on two charges of horse theft and was executed in the same year. Assigning the harshest punishment possible to highway robbery caused highwaymen terror at the idea of being convicted, a major aid in stomping out the highwaymen. However, it may be argued that this method of severe punishment did not help as much as it might have because the government at the time were too focused on these punishments to find a better way of dealing with the highwaymen. The numbers of highwaymen still increased while the punishments of the bloody code were in order, which leads to the idea that other factors are more responsible for the decline in highwaymen.
The Term Paper on Evolution Of Capital Punishment
Capital punishment can be defined as the penalty of death for the commission of a crime. The death sentence has been a traditional form of justice through time. But time, trade and geography has altered its form. In many countries today, capital punishment is a fundamental part of criminal justice systems. The death sentence is a major way of ensuring respect and instilling fear in people. It was ...
There were several other possible causes, in addition to the bloody code, that deserve to be addressed. One natural reason that highwaymen may have grown but also decreased in numbers during the bloody code may be that since the beginning of this time period, the population has expanded and inhabited the open land that highwaymen favoured. This development cut down the chances of a coach being ambushed as there was too high of a risk for the robbers of having their crimes witnessed. Another unintentional discouragement for them was that travellers, their main victims, no longer carried large amounts of money with them as banks spread across the country and the banking system became more sophisticated. Their coaches also became more frequent on the roads and they improved, reducing a highwayman’s chances of stopping a coach for long. The people who knew of the trouble associated with highwaymen have been found to have made an effort too, with JP’s refusing to license taverns that were known to harbour highwaymen. As the government became increasing aware of the problems caused by highwaymen, they tried two methods to counter the issue. These were the introduction of stagecoaches, to carry passengers around the country and reduce the risk of assault, and mounted patrols which were set up around London. The patrols advertised high rewards to encourage informers and increase the chance of convicting highwaymen. I find this to most likely be an effective way the government attempted to reduce assaults, possibly having a larger effect on the problem than the other way they tried to combat highwaymen using savage punishments.
I do believe that the punishments of the bloody code can be attributed to for the decline of highwaymen to a certain extent. Although, I would more highly credit the government at the time for their effort in setting up mounted patrols and informing townspeople of the merciless highwaymen over their threats of capital punishment. After evaluating all of the factors that may have had an effect and how the bloody code would have helped, I have come to the conclusion that it was the government who helped stamp out highwaymen the most, but not because of the laws they created in the bloody code. The highway robbers were likely to believe they would never be convicted with the lack of police tracking them across countries, which is why they were not as deterred as the government expected them to be by the capital punishment. Finally, I would say that I am confident that the bloody code did have some influence in the downturn of highway robbery. The fact that the crime was publicized, people more actively tried to report them and highwaymen felt their courage leave them as the risk of consequences grew greater, is what I believe was the most accountable for stamping out highway robbery.
The Essay on Hate Crimes Crime Government Punishment
Victims of hate crimes vary in the indiscretions placed against them, whether it is from a simple slander to a vicious attack. But they all have the same mutual notion that the crimes that were committed against them are far above other crimes because they were carried out in hate. I believe that the idea of creating a separate punishment for crimes of this nature is absolutely nonsensical and ...