Qualities of Mercy
Justice, Punishment, and Discretion
Will be published approx. on 6. December 1996
Book
Hardback
198 pages
978-0-7748-0584-1 (ISBN)
Description
Qualities of Mercy deals with the history of mercy, theremittance of punishments in the criminal law. The writers probe thediscretionary use of power and inquire how it has been exercised tospare convicted criminals from the full might of the law. Drawing onthe history of England, Canada, and Australia in periods when bothcapital and corporal punishment were still practised, they show thatcontrary to common assumptions the past was not a time of unmitigatedterror and they ask what inspired restraint in punishment. Theyconclude that the ability to decide who lived and died -- through theexercise or denial of mercy -- reinforced the power structure.
The essays are an important contribution to current public policydebates. If today's move towards unyielding and harsher punishmentproceeds, including campaigns to reinstate capital punishment, mercyalone will fail to neutralize the inequities of criminal justice. Onlyprofound cultural shifts and transitions of sensibility have the forceto stem the tide of unprecedented punitiveness.
The essays are an important contribution to current public policydebates. If today's move towards unyielding and harsher punishmentproceeds, including campaigns to reinstate capital punishment, mercyalone will fail to neutralize the inequities of criminal justice. Onlyprofound cultural shifts and transitions of sensibility have the forceto stem the tide of unprecedented punitiveness.
Reviews / Votes
This thought-provoking and well-written book will be of particular interest to students of law, sociology, public policy, and criminal justice administration. - Anna Leslie (Canadian Book Review Annual)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Vancouver
Canada
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 159 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7748-0584-1 (9780774805841)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Carolyn Strange teaches at the Centre of Criminologyat the University of Toronto. She is the author of Toronto'sGirl Problem: The Perils and Pleasures of the City, 1880-1930.
Content
Foreword / Douglas Hay
Acknowledgments
Introduction / Carolyn Strange
1. Civilized People Don't Want to See That Sort of Thing: TheDecline of Physical Punishment in London, 1760-1840 / Greg T.Smith
2. In Place of Death: Transportation, Penal Practices, and theEnglish State, 1770-1830 / Simon Devereaux
3. `Harshness and Forbearance': The Politics of Pardons and theUpper Canada Rebellion / Barry Wright
4. Savage Mercy: Native Culture and the Modification of CapitalPunishment in Nineteenth-Century British Columbia / TinaLoo
5. Discretionary Justice: Political Culture and the Death Penalty inNew South Wales and Ontario, 1890-1920 / Carolyn Strange
Punishment in Late-Twentieth-Century Canada: An Afterword /Anthony N. Doob
Acknowledgments
Introduction / Carolyn Strange
1. Civilized People Don't Want to See That Sort of Thing: TheDecline of Physical Punishment in London, 1760-1840 / Greg T.Smith
2. In Place of Death: Transportation, Penal Practices, and theEnglish State, 1770-1830 / Simon Devereaux
3. `Harshness and Forbearance': The Politics of Pardons and theUpper Canada Rebellion / Barry Wright
4. Savage Mercy: Native Culture and the Modification of CapitalPunishment in Nineteenth-Century British Columbia / TinaLoo
5. Discretionary Justice: Political Culture and the Death Penalty inNew South Wales and Ontario, 1890-1920 / Carolyn Strange
Punishment in Late-Twentieth-Century Canada: An Afterword /Anthony N. Doob