An Eye for an Eye A Global History of Crime and Punishment edition by Mitchel P Roth Politics Social Sciences eBooks
Download As PDF : An Eye for an Eye A Global History of Crime and Punishment edition by Mitchel P Roth Politics Social Sciences eBooks 
Since the dawn of mankind, humans have demonstrated a remarkable capacity for violence, deceit and mayhem. With the advent of civilization and the creation of laws to uphold our sense of security and retribution, the notions of crime and punishment have come to play significant roles in societies the world over. But how and why do we penalize certain activities over others, and how effective are these penalties in punishing the wrongdoers and bringing a sense of justice to victims?
Crime and Punishment covers everything from petty wrongdoings to sexual offences, serial homicide, piracy and organized crime. Perhaps the most important development in the attempt to safeguard citizens was the birth of the prison and incarceration; today, the philosophy of rehabilitation is gaining increasing momentum. This book also explores execution throughout history, variously considered barbaric or justified by different cultures and societies punishments such as stoning, hemlock, firing squad and lethal injection can incite abhorrence and support in equal measure.
Written by an expert in the field, this book attempts to overcome the lack of historical written documentation, especially in non-Western cultures, by using an interdisciplinary approach that ranges from anthropology and archaeology to folklore, classical literature and oral traditions. It reveals that there is a remarkable continuity throughout history in what crimes are committed as well as the sanctions used to punish them. Perfect for students, academics and general readers alike, this book provides a fascinating insight into criminality and its consequences on a global scale.
An Eye for an Eye A Global History of Crime and Punishment edition by Mitchel P Roth Politics Social Sciences eBooks
Great book for research paper on medieval France and crime and punishment. Exactly what I was looking for.Product details
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An Eye for an Eye A Global History of Crime and Punishment edition by Mitchel P Roth Politics Social Sciences eBooks Reviews
This is an intriguing book with a very wide focus. I rate it at four stars because I noted several minor errors. Here are two the book says Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe was 1619-1622, off a century; and that the Austro-Hungarian Army hunted down a Serbian brigand in 1925 (the section discuss highwaymen and their like), some years after Austria-Hungary ceased to exist. It can get repetitive as well--how many times does an author need to make the point that hanging a felon, if not done correctly, results in a slow strangulation? Still, there is a great deal of information that makes up or the repetitiveness and the editing misses.
I found it a fairly slow read because of the vast amount of detail, but the comparisons between legal traditions are intriguing. Readers could browse the book and read what's relevant to their interests. The book might also be useful in a survey course in law or in culture studies. There is what some readers may see as bias he notes ",,,from the first written code, law became a rich man's preserve..." and his discussion, at some length, of Islamic legal traditions sees it as one the whole rather mild, unlike the usual dismissal of Sharia law as barbaric and medieval (he also notes that there are four schools of Islamic tradition, and their interpretation of law varies considerably). If anything in the book merits the word "savage," it would be some of the European, Japanese and Chinese methods of punishment.
Roth starts by noting that what constitutes a "crime" varies by location and time. Homosexuality was once punishable by death in many cultures, and still is in some, but is no longer a crime in most countries. Conversely some modern crimes have only a very short history, such as internet identity theft (of course assuming another's identity is ancient). Chapter 2 discusses the rise of legal traditions, including Greco-Roman, Germanic (as in the Frankish system so far as known), with Anglo-Saxon/ English law evolving into the common law discussed at length. Among details are the practice of sanctuary and the trial by ordeal. Roth claims the ordeal was not a matter of might makes right, with attempt to negotiate before, and with adjustments to level the field. An example is that a woman in an ordeal against a man puts him in a waist-deep hole while she circles with a stone in a sling--if he misses three times with a club, she wins. This chapter also discusses Islamic tradition, in particular differentiating the Hanafi from the Hanbali schools of thought. There's a shorter discussion of Chinese tradition.
Chapter 3 looks at "crime in a changing landscape," in the sense of the development of city culture and incipient nation-states. Roth discusses feudalism in Europe and Japan, and sees in cities in particular the development of an "exhibitory" punishment, making an example of criminals by pain, humiliation and degradation. He looks a little at Sicily and finds that the mafia developed from an essentially feudal society. Chapter 4 continues the analysis into modern forms of punishment and the rise of the prison (and the workhouse). The concept of punishment being public a sort of morality play for the public (and apparently also entertainment) gradually changed to almost secret executions in the depth of prisons (he does not discuss terrorism or other acts designed to impact the public). One interesting development was "transportation" in which felons were literally transported to colonies to a term at labor, as an alternative to execution. The British sent thousands to what is now the US, and when that option ended with American independence, replaced it with Australia, with 187,000 people transported there between 1787 and 1854 (he gives a different total later in the book). France sent 80,000 people to Devil's Island, and of course the Russians used internal exile to Siberia. This section includes coverage of the British workhouse, and also of punishment in China, the Ottoman state, Russia and Qing China--the Russians come across as the most barbaric.
Chapter 5 covers highwaymen, early organized crime and related topics, including the phenomenon of criminals being widely popular in places, often as variations on the Robin Hood theme, people such as Ned Kelly and Bonnie and Clyde. This section includes a bit about Brazil (but the book does not cover Latin America much, or Africa for that matter). Chapter 6 looks at prohibitions, drug smuggling, piracy, the slave trade (noting that often to be enslaved was a criminal's punishment) and the internationalization of crime. Chapter 7 discusses "the face of modern murder" which actually looks some at the early modern era. This discusses serial killers, and notes that the USA has about 80% of such murders in recent decades, although also noting that such killers have been active in a number of countries.
Chapter 8 is perhaps less entertaining but of more consequence, looking at crime and punishment in a post-colonial world, most specifically at former colonies, especially the British, which has resulted in sort of hybrids of local and colonially-imposed legal systems. The discussion is especially good for former British colonies in the Caribbean, and in Africa, with a look at Sharia law. Chapter 9 is briefer, looking at crime and punishment in the 21st century.
Great book for research paper on medieval France and crime and punishment. Exactly what I was looking for.
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