The History of Punishment

Chapter 1: Looking back: changing ideas of punishment The penal codes of ancient Greece (the Draconian Code imposed the death penalty for every offence) Justice Old Testament style 18th-century prison reform - rehabilitation for the good of society and the individual

Chapter 2: Throwing away the key: imprisonment Work in prisons: the types of tasks carried out Modern prisons: paying prisoners for work; provisions for education and training Open prisons -- a more flexible environment Young offender institutions

Chapter 3: Deportation Beginning in the 17th century, the process of transporting convicted felons to the colonies was continued for 200 years The formation of a "convict society" in Australia

Chapter 4: Corporal punishment Corporal punishment evolved largely from old beliefs in vengeance Different methods: flogging, branding, mutilation (e.g. cutting thieves' hands off) Modern instances, e.g. in Saudi Arabia and Singapore

Chapter 5: Torture Tools and techniques of torture, including physical and mental punishment; from the rack and the thumbscrews to electric shocks and the use of hallucinogens Using torture to extract information and confessions as well as to punish Modern uses of torture, e.g. by the IRA

Chapter 6: The death penalty The Bible prescribed death as the penalty for more than 30 different crimes Methods used: crucifixion, boiling in oil, drawing and quartering, impalement, beheading, stoning, etc. The continuing use of capital punishment in some Western nations Lynching - the unauthorized, illegal use of death as a punishment.

Chapter 7: Why punish? Pros and cons The issue of punishment versus corrective treatment Supporters of legal punishment stress its value as a deterrent and, in the case of imprisonment, as a way of protecting society from lawbreakers

Further reading and resources Index