Transcript Victorian Crime and punishment

By:
Zane Cooper
Jeff Shagena
Andrew Olinger
Minor crimes included drunkenness, vagrancy,
and wandering around without employment
 Major crimes included murder, any rape that
resulted in death, and major burglary
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In the court systems, judges and prosecutors
had much more power
Criminals were treated very poorly in prison,
as they were considered the lowest social class
The “silent system” was later induced in the
prisons, along with hard labor
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Hanging was the main form of capital
punishment, but people were being hanged for
stupid crimes like stealing onions
Transportation was also a main form of capital
punishment
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Crimes such as homicide, rape, violent
robberies, etc.
However, due to the judicial corruption,
anybody could be sentenced to capital
punishment
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Policemen
Sir Robert Peel

Father of
modern policing
 Metropolitan
Police Force

Peelian
Principles
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Early 1800s - Criminals were considered to be
only lower, working class members who
wanted to live an “easy life”
Mid-1800s - only the poor were considered
criminals
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Could be discerned just by appearance
Late 1800s – criminals had behavior problems
or were not raised well

Social Darwinism became popular
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Headquarters of Metropolitan Police
Colonel Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne
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Central Criminal Court of
England and Wales
Next to Newgate Prison
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Infamous prison used for centuries
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Became the site of London’s gallows in 1783
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Demolished in 1904
London’s main prison
Terrible conditions
for especially
women and
children

Pre-1800s
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Often viewed as a sympathetic hero
Post-1800s
No more sympathy
 Shifted towards detectives
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The half strangling of unwary pedestrians from
behind.
Very common crime
Commonly practiced by two people. One
attacker and one robber.
Attacker would strangle a person from behind
while the robber stripped the person of
valuables and money.
Caused wide spread panic in London
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Late 1880’s
London – East Quarter – Whitechapel
77,000 People
Large Jewish immigrant population
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Resentment
Unsanitary
Poverty
Crime
Highest death rate
Prostitution
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Mary Ann Nicholls – 3:40 AM – August 31st
Charles Cross – Bucks Row – PC (Police
Constable) John Neil
Annie Chapman – 6:00 AM – September 8th John Davis – Hanbury Street – The Leather
Apron
Elizabeth Stride –
1:00 AM – September 30th Louis Deimshutz –
Berners Street
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Catharine Eddowes – Three Jewish Men 1:35
AM – September 30th – PC Watkins 1:45 AM –
Mitre Square
The Mysterious Message

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PC Alfred Long – Eddowes Apron – “The Juwes are
the men That Will be blamed for nothing”
Mary Kelly – November 9th - George
Hitchinson 2:00 AM – Dorset Street
–Cries of Murder! 4:00 AM 10:45 Thomas Bowyer
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Hatred of Jews – Leather Apron incidents
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Fear and suspicion strikes the people of
London.
Sensationalist coverage

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Xenophobia and Anti-Semitism
Letters
Failure of the police
Social Reforms
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http://www.jack-the-ripper.org
http://www.historytoday.com/emelynegodfrey/stranglehold-victorian-society
http://www.victorianweb.org/history/crime/
banerjee1.html
http://www.jack-the-ripperwalk.co.uk/jack_the_ripper_history.htm
http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/jackrippers-murders-affect-london