Fields, Fens and Felonies
Fields, Fens and Felonies

Author: Gregory J Durston

Publisher: Waterside Press

Published: 2016-12-09

Total Pages: 737

ISBN-13: 1909976113

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A new work on Crime and Punishment in East Anglia (and elsewhere) during the eighteenth century. It was a time of highwaymen, footpads and desperate petty offenders, draconian penalties, extremes of wealth and poverty, corruption and rough and emerging forms of justice. The contents include justices of the peace, policing, crimes, courts and judges as well as such matters as summary trial and disposal, jury trial, execution (and reprieve), a variety of offences including murder (and other homicides), violence and sexual offences, smuggling, poaching, property crimes, riots and disturbances. The book also looks at the various hierarchies that existed whether social, legal, judicial, religious, military or otherwise so as to exert a variety of social controls at a time of relative lawlessness. A fascinating and statistically absorbing account of crimes, responses and penal outcomes of the era. Neither a micro-history in the context of a parish, hundred, or small town nor national account, but a more unusual criminal justice history of a major English region with its own correlation with London and the rest of England in addition to its local differences and ‘quirks’.

Delusions of Innocence
Delusions of Innocence

Author: Michael O'Connell

Publisher: Waterside Press

Published: 2017-09-04

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1909976466

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The case of Stefan Kiszko casts a dark shadow over British justice. Totally unconnected to the murder of which he was convicted—that of a young girl Lesley Molseed—he spent 16 years in prison tormented as a sex-offender and suffering from what one expert described as ‘delusions of innocence’. As author Michael O’Connell explains, it was in fact the system by which he was ensnared which was suffering from ‘delusions of guilt’. Kiszko could not have been Lesley’s attacker as subsequently established by DNA and the medical fact that he could not produce sperm. But a false confession written for him by a corrupt police officer set in train proceedings from which he was never to recover, dying only a short time after his eventual release. In this book, Michael O’Connell investigates every small detail of the case with especial reference to the foibles of the lawyers, investigators and scientists involved, all of whom either missed or ignored the signs that should have pointed to an early discharge from a misguided prosecution. The book includes the participation of a prosecutor who went on to become Lord Chief Justice and a leading defence barrister who became Home Secretary before his elevation to the House of Lords. Everyone seems to have become caught up in the momentum originally fuelled by policing methods that are hopefully now long gone. The most detailed treatment available. Contains Kiszko’s original confession and retraction. Explains the points at which the case went wrong. Looks at the motivations of those involved.

Crimen Exceptum
Crimen Exceptum

Author: Gregory J Durston

Publisher: Waterside Press

Published: 2019-06-05

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 1910979759

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As the author notes, ‘The early-modern European witch-hunts were neither orchestrated massacres nor spontaneous pogroms. Alleged witches were not rounded up at night and summarily killed extra-judicially or lynched as the victims of mob justice. They were executed after trial and conviction with full legal process’. In this concise but highly-informed account of the persecution of witches Gregory Durston demonstrates what a largely ordered process was the singling-out or hunting-down of perceived offenders. How a mix of superstition, fear, belief and ready explanations for ailments, misfortune or disasters caused law, politics and religion to indulge in criminalisation and the appearance of justice. Bearing echoes of modern-day ‘othering’ and marginalisation of outsiders he shows how witchcraft became akin to treason (with its special rules), how evidentially speaking storms, sickness or coincidence might be attributed to conjuring, magic, curses and spells. All this reinforced by examples and detailed references to the law and practice through which a desired outcome was achieved. In another resonance with modern times, the author shows how decisions were often diverted into the hands of witch-hunters, witch-finders (including self-appointed Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins), witch-prickers and other experts as well as the quaintly titled ‘cunning-folk’ consulted by prosecutors and ‘victims’. Crimen Exceptum (crimes apart). A straightforward and authoritative guide. Shows the rise and fall of prosecutions. Backed by a wealth of learning and research. Extract ‘A range of specialist tests developed to establish that a suspect truly was a witch. These included “swimming”, “pricking” … identifying a witch’s teat, requiring her to recite the Lord’s Prayer or other well-known passage of scripture … and any positive results obtained from the various techniques, such as scratching a suspect or boiling a victim’s urine … to break a spell or to identify who had cast it.’ Review 'An excellent overall history of English witch trials replete with fascinating examples drawn from pamphlets and trial records. The book is written in fluid prose, understandable to the legal layperson. I cannot recommend Crimen Exceptum highly enough to anyone interested in the factual background to witchcraft prosecutions in England.'-- Catherine Meyrick, author of historical fiction.

The Little Book of Insider Dealing
The Little Book of Insider Dealing

Author: Gregory J Durston

Publisher: Waterside Press

Published: 2018-02-21

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1909976539

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Since the Financial Crisis of 2008, criminal prosecution has moved to centre-stage as the Financial Conduct Authority’s preferred means of punishing and deterring insider dealing (the illegal practice of trading with access to sensitive non-public information). The Little Book of Insider Dealing looks at all aspects of the ‘insider’ offences established by the Criminal Justice Act 1993, including their history, punishment and rationale, as well as their (slightly uneasy) relationship with the overlapping civil regulatory regime that also governs such financial misconduct. Topics covered also include: detection, compliance, surveillance, suspicion, reporting obligations, enforcement and (civil and criminal) penalties and warnings, plus there is a strong focus on evidential aspects and a wealth of examples from real life cases. Suitable for beginners and practitioners alike. The first concise treatment and highly topical. A gem that deals with wide scale problems and complexities identified by an article in The Times (see Chapter 1).

Jacks, Knaves and Vagabonds
Jacks, Knaves and Vagabonds

Author: Gregory J Durston

Publisher: Waterside Press

Published: 2020-09-02

Total Pages: 739

ISBN-13: 1909976768

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In this welcome addition to his Crime History Series, Gregory Durston points to the lack of design and short-term expediency that typified Tudor law and order. But he also detects an emergent criminal justice system amidst royal patronage, protection, and the influence of wealthy magnates. Students of English history will have heard how benefit of clergy and the ‘neck verse’ might avoid a hanging, but what of other stratagems such as down-valuing stolen goods, cruentation, chance medley, pious perjury or John at Death (a non-existent culprit blamed by the accused and treated by juries as real); all devices used to mitigate the all-pervading death-for-felony rule. Together with other artifices deployed by courts to circumvent black-letter law the author also describes how poor, marginalised and illiterate citizens were those most likely to suffer unfairness, injustice and draconian punishment. He also describes the political intrigue and widescale corruption that were symptomatic of the era, alongside such diverse aspects as forfeiture of property, evidential ploys, the rise of the highwayman, religious persecution, witchcraft and infanticide crazes. At a time of shifting allegiances?—?and as Crown, church, judges, magistrates and officials wrestled over jurisdiction, central or local control, ‘ungodly customs’, laws of convenience or malleable definitions?—?never perhaps were facts or law so expertly engineered to justify or defend often curious outcomes. Part of Durston’s Crime History Series. Covers the entire Tudor era. Based on first-hand historical research. Fully referenced to hundreds of sources.

Punishing the Criminal Corpse, 1700-1840
Punishing the Criminal Corpse, 1700-1840

Author: Peter King

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-11-06

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 1137513616

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This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 licence. This book analyses the different types of post-execution punishments and other aggravated execution practices, the reasons why they were advocated, and the decision, enshrined in the Murder Act of 1752, to make two post-execution punishments, dissection and gibbeting, an integral part of sentences for murder. It traces the origins of the Act, and then explores the ways in which Act was actually put into practice. After identifying the dominance of penal dissection throughout the period, it looks at the abandonment of burning at the stake in the 1790s, the rapid decline of hanging in chains just after 1800, and the final abandonment of both dissection and gibbeting in 1832 and 1834. It concludes that the Act, by creating differentiation in levels of penalty, played an important role within the broader capital punishment system well into the nineteenth century. While eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century historians have extensively studied the ‘Bloody Code’ and the resulting interactions around the ‘Hanging Tree’, they have largely ignored an important dimension of the capital punishment system – the courts extensive use of aggravated and post-execution punishments. With this book, Peter King aims to rectify this neglected historical phenomenon.

The Royal Throne of Mercy and British Culture in the Victorian Age
The Royal Throne of Mercy and British Culture in the Victorian Age

Author: James Gregory

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-10-01

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1350142441

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In the first detailed study of its kind, James Gregory's book takes a historical approach to mercy by focusing on widespread and varied discussions about the quality, virtue or feeling of mercy in the British world during Victoria's reign. Gregory covers an impressive range of themes from the gendered discourses of 'emotional' appeal surrounding Queen Victoria to the exercise and withholding of royal mercy in the wake of colonial rebellion throughout the British empire. Against the backdrop of major events and their historical significance, a masterful synthesis of rich source material is analysed, including visual depictions (paintings and cartoons in periodicals and popular literature) and literary ones (in sermons, novels, plays and poetry). Gregory's sophisticated analysis of the multiple meanings, uses and operations of royal mercy duly emphasise its significance as a major theme in British cultural history during the 'long 19th century'. This will be essential reading for those interested in the history of mercy, the history of gender, British social and cultural history and the legacy of Queen Victoria's reign.

Murder by Numbers
Murder by Numbers

Author: James Moore

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2018-01-31

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 0750987073

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What is the connection between the number 13 and Jack the Ripper? Why was the number 18 crucial in catching Acid Bath murderer John George Haigh? And what is so puzzling about the number 340 in the chilling case of the Zodiac killer? The answers to all these questions and many more are revealed in a unique, number-crunching history of the ultimate crime. James Moore's Murder by Numbers tells the story of murder through the centuries in an entirely new way ... through the key digits involved. Each entry starts with a number and leads into a different aspect of murder, be it a fascinating angle to a case or revealing insights into murder methods, punishments and, of course, the chilling figures behind the most notorious killers from our past. From the grizzly death toll of the world's worst serial killer to your own odds of being murdered, this guide will appeal to the connoisseur of true crime and the casual reader alike.

History and the Law
History and the Law

Author: Carolyn Steedman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-01-30

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 1108486053

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Reveals how people thought about, used, manipulated and resisted the law from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, focusing on everyday legal experiences.

The Little Book of Market Manipulation
The Little Book of Market Manipulation

Author: Gregory J Durston

Publisher: Waterside Press

Published: 2020-01-29

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 1909976733

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Market manipulation comes in many forms. For a wrong that some say started life with groups of men dressed in Bourbon uniforms spreading false information in cod French accents, the speed of change has accelerated dramatically in the modern era, via the Internet, novel forms of electronic communication, ultra-fast computer-generated trading, new types of financial instruments, and increased globalisation. This means that opportunities for carrying-out new forms of manipulation now exist on an exponential scale. Looks at the mechanisms, criminal and civil, to confront market manipulation, its enforcement regimes, legal and evidential rules and potential loopholes. Shows how every individual involved in market transactions can fall foul of the law if they do not ensure integrity in their dealings. The ‘tricks’ used by those seeking to benefit from this special category of fraud and the relationship of dedicated provisions to the general law is outlined, with key statutory provisions set out in an appendix. A valuable accompaniment to The Little Book of Insider Dealing (Waterside Press, 2018). An invaluable pocket guide and law primer. An essential guide for investors. With practical examples and decided cases. An up-to-date treatment of a fast-moving topic. Describes both criminal and regulatory regimes. Contents include Forms of Market Manipulation; Suspicion, Identification, Detection and Investigation; Obligations and Enforcement; Criminal Offences, Defences and Punishment; Regulatory Provisions and Penalties; Evidence; Acronyms; Select Bibliography; Key Statutory Provisions and Index.