NCJ Number
152576
Journal
Women and Criminal Justice Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (1994) Pages: 67-95
Date Published
1994
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This historical study of the operation of capital punishment in Victoria, Australia, from 1842 through 1967 concludes that politics rather than the law influences the sentencing outcome for women.
Abstract
The analysis focuses on the five women hanged in Victoria during the study period, when a total of 185 executions occurred. The analysis notes that the sparing use of the death penalty seemingly supports the myth of chivalrous treatment of women by the criminal justice system. It is widely believed that the few women who are executed must be monsters who deserve their fate. Thus, the public, the press, judges, and politicians all use chivalry as a way of proving that the death penalty successfully balances the competing aims of justice and mercy. However, chivalry is sometimes dramatically discarded in the face of competing political pressures. Thus, chivalry toward women is inconsistent and inevitably arbitrary. The discussion concludes that gender analysis is another useful strategy in refuting claims that capital punishment can ever be made fair. Notes and 52 references (Author abstract modified)