The Victorians tried to stop the growth of crime by imposing more severe punishments, such as hanging and transportation. Transportation is when the convicts would be sent to colonies to serve their sentence. However, people became troubled at the number of people hanged for petty crimes, but once Queen Victoria came into power, less people were being hanged for crimes. The sentences became more lenient and transportation was much more common compared to hanging people. Other forms of punishment included imprisonment, hard labour, physical punishment, military service, and fines. The last man to be publicly hanged was Dr Edward William Pritchard in 1865, and the last execution by hanging took place in Dundee in 1889, with the death of William Henry Bury.
The trials for these crimes in court were often very quick. Compared to the modern day, prosecutors, judges and jurors had more power and choice. The prosecutor was normally the victim of the crime, and he or she would accuse the defendant. The defendant was expected to explain away the evidence against them and, thus, prove their innocence.
There were three types of courts for criminal to be brought to justice: The Magistrates' Courts, where there were two types; The Quarter Sessions which was the principal court of the magistrates, meeting only four times a year, and the Petty Sessions which dealt with minor cases since there was too much work for the Quarter Sessions. There were also the Assize Courts where there was a professional, high court judge and jury. Serious crimes were tried twice a year. These courts dealt with criminal cases assigned to them by the bench of county or borough justices. Lastly, there was the Court of King's (or Queen's) Bench which was the king's personal court, with a variety of functions connected with protecting the
interests of the Crown
The jails in the Victorian Era were dark, overcrowded, and dirty. The men and women were not separated from each other. There would be all kinds of convicts in a prison, disregarding age or any other factors. There was also the Debtors Prison, where the people who could not pay off their debts were sent. There they would work, making potato sacks, baskets, and other such items. Some prisons were reformed in the 1860s, and the convicts were actually well provided for. The conditions in the prison was better than some in the free world. Good food was provided, books could be borrowed, and the building was warm for the convicts.
Sources:
http://vcp.e2bn.org/justice/section2194-sentences-and-punishments.html
http://wuff.me.uk/assizes/P5.html
http://members.tripod.com/ajsmith_2/
http://sites.scran.ac.uk/lamb/crime.htm ]http://sites.scran.ac.uk/lamb/crime.htm
http://vcp.e2bn.org/justice/section2194-sentences-and-punishments.html
