Victorian Women Murderers and Thieves

[threebikesmcginty]

Noticed this piece on the Grauniads web site.

The parole records and photographs of thousands of woman are being put on line, some of the punishments seem incredibly harsh for the minor offences.

Mary Richards - look upon the face of this ghastly oyster thief, the old crone served five years for stealing 130 of the phlegmy-like shell dwellers.

Elizabeth Murphy, 19, sentenced at Salford sessions to five years' penal servitude to be followed by seven years' police supervision, apparently for stealing an umbrella. Elizabeth Burk, who got seven years' hard labour for taking a piece of ribbon; and 45-year-old Dorcas Snell, who received five years with hard labour in 1883 for the theft of a piece of bacon.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/25/victorian-female-prisoners-records-genealogy

 

[rich p]

130 oysters = 1 viagra

She'd need to feed me a few more than that

 

[threebikesmcginty]

she'd have to go blind too rich!

 

[Cubist]

Just to add a bit of cheer to the debate, there are some stats to show that women generally get harsher sentences on conviction that men. Part of the theory is that judges are more likely to be outraged at a woman offending because, subliminally, they expect women to nurture etc etc.

As far as I can remember women are more likely to get a custodial sentence on first conviction than men.

 

[Smokin Joe]

IIRC the youngest person on record of having received the death penalty was a seven year old girl, though it is not known whether the sentence was carried out. Many were apparently commuted to a prison term before being carried out.

 

[Arch]

Just to add a bit of cheer to the debate, there are some stats to show that women generally get harsher sentences on conviction that men. Part of the theory is that judges are more likely to be outraged at a woman offending because, subliminally, they expect women to nurture etc etc.

As far as I can remember women are more likely to get a custodial sentence on first conviction than men.

I was listening to a piece on the radio on this story and they said that at that time, prison was a relatively new punishment for women - previously there had been a tendency to sentence to flogging and so on. And that hanging was more likely to be commuted for women than for men. So perhaps things have changed a bit - although of course flogging isn't available to judges today (or only at very expensive private clubs...)

 

[Fnaar]

I worked for a few years in mental handicap hospitals years ago... as well as reading original diagnoses such as "cretin" and of course "spastic" (both clearly not used any more) I was shocked to find women there who'd only been put in before because they had illegitimate kids (must have been in 1930s or so, I'd guess), and had over the years become so institutionalised that they wouldn't have been able to cope outside. That's something I remind 'Mrs' Fnaar of sometimes (we're not actually married)

 

[Garz]

Haha, imagine today's chavs being punished like this!

 

[Baggy]

Five years for 130 oysters and five years for a piece of bacon. Bloody Hell. What would it have been for a parsnip?

If it had been a few years ealrier they would probably have been transported! There's some interesting stuff in the Exeter Guildhall - think coincidentally someone there was transported for stealing a piece of ribbon.

I just felt that if the picture had been of a male 59-year-old oyster thief, no one would have thought to say, What an ugly old git, I wouldn't want to sh*g him.
Just sayin ...

Maybe that's because we've become de-sensitised to such images of men through daily exposure to Rich P's avatar, and just feel pity instead .

 

[accountantpete]

of the phlegmy-like shell dwellers.

Bit of a slur on the bivalve population isn't it?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Bit of a slur on the bivalve population isn't it?

Clam up pete!

 

[JonnyBlade]

Imagine today's chavs being punished!

 

[krushavik]

Imagine today's chavs being punished!

Sure Ive just read this. mmmmmmmmmmm

 

[asterix]

The nineteenth century was positively humane! Up until the late eighteenth century women were still being burnt at the stake for 'treason'. Treason included murder of their husband or forging coins of the realm.