- Bloody Code
The Bloody Code is a term later used to refer to the system of laws and punishments in
England from 1400-1850. Although it wasn't called the Bloody Code in its own time, the name was given later because a large number of crimes were punishable byexecution .There was no police force at that time, so many crimes carried the punishment of execution, as it was thought that this was the only way to prevent people from committing more crimes.
In the years after 1660, the number of offences carrying the death penalty increased from around 50, to 160 in 1750 and to 222 in 1815.Fact|date=July 2008 Crimes that were punishable by execution at this time included stealing anything worth more than 5
shillings , stealing horses or sheep, or writing a threatening letter, right through toarson ,treason andmurder . Despite there being so many crimes punishable by death, it has been estimated that fewer people were hanged in the 18th century than the century before.Fact|date=September 2008The death penalty was removed from
pickpocket ing in 1808 and later from many other offences during the 1820s and 1830s.Judge s and juries thought that punishments were too harsh for many of the criminals, so they became less inclined to find them guilty in court.Fact|date=July 2008 Judges would frequently under-value stolen goods so that the accused would no longer face the death penalty.Fact|date=July 2008 Since the law makers still wanted punishments to scare potential criminals, but needed them to become less harsh, transportation became the more common punishment. Since theUnited States of America had won independence by this time, the majority of convicts were transported toAustralia . It has been estimated that over one-third of all criminals convicted between 1788 and 1867 were transported to Australia andVan Diemen's Land (nowTasmania ). Some criminals could escape transportation if they agreed to join the army as a punishment.In 1823 the
Judgement of Death Act 1823 made the mandatory death penalty discretionary for all crimes except treason and murder. Gradually during the middle of the nineteenth century the number of capital offences was reduced to five in 1861.ee also
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Capital punishment in the United Kingdom External links
* [http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10403 Amnesty International: History of the Abolition of the Death Penalty in the UK]
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