[DanaC]

Nah. Britain (or more accurately England and Wales - Scotland has always maintained a separate legal system) had moved pretty far from the Bloody Code by this time. Mid to late 18th century was probably the height of that - many property crimes were added to the list of capital offences during that time, mainly through the removal of 'benefit of the clergy' - there were around 50 offences that could carry the death penalty in the 1680s - that went up by more than one offence per year. By 1820 it was somewhere between 200 and 220 offences punishable by death.

There's a lot of evidence to suggest that it actually played out differently in the courts though, with juries far more likely either to find a defendant not guilty, or convict them on a lesser charge (theft rather than burglary, for instance)

I love 18th and 19th-century Britain. It's a mass of contradictions and contested cultures. At a time when it was famed for its brutality, particularly where justice was concerned it was also a major player in the rise of 'humane' and benefit societies. Though I'm way over simplifying and slamming several different periods together there :P

Even by the late 18th century, there was a lot of discourse about more humane approaches. Transportation, for all its horror was primarily seen as a more humane punishment than the rope. Later on, penal servitude was the more humane replacement for transportation. I think transportation was abolished entirely in the 1860s, but not 100% certain and can't be arsed wikiing. Certainly long gone by the time this chap was going to be tried, in the early 20th century. .



Sorry - I'll shut up now.