NCJ Number
132931
Date Published
1990
Length
152 pages
Annotation
This history of sentencing policies and practices in England traces developments from 1550 to the present. It concludes that many policy issues currently being debated have also been debated in past centuries and that it is incorrect to assume that punishment or the fear of punishment will prevent people from committing crimes.
Abstract
By 1550, England and other western European countries looked mainly to the legal system for settling disputes. Early modern punishment included fines, the stocks, the ducking stool, and other penalties that were usually public, intended to shame, and administered in the village among familiar people. Capital punishment was used extensively, while incarceration was rare. The prison became the major innovation of the 19th century, while the 20th century began with a period of optimism and correctional reform. Capital punishment was abolished in 1965. However, prison populations have increased, and correctional institutions are now extremely overcrowded. Since the late 1970's corrections policy has emphasized punishment rather than rehabilitation, although probation is widely used. The current system faces a crisis, and discussions of changes, aided by an awareness of the history of penal policy, are needed. Notes and 143 references