Bilow- OT-
I salute you as a gentleman and even give you a nod as a scholar! Believe me, I have plenty of experience on SI with people who, even when challenged reasonably cordially, become highly irrational and malicious when their sacred cows get tarnished.
My impression, by the way, is that there was a sea change in the administration of capital punishment between the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain. In many cases the draconian laws stayed on the books until very late, or even through, the 19th century, but were not widely applied. I would not have challenged your statement had you made it about prior centuries.
You may be interested in the following story (I cannot provide you a reference, but I'm "sure" it's true). And if you or anyone can complete some of the missing pieces, or provide a reference, I would appreciate it. In any case, it appears during the early or middle reign of the Good Queen Victoria, there were some obnoxious Irish lads who "done in" some English soldiers or administrators (at least that's what I think they did: whatever it was, it was more than putting a mustache on a picture of Vikki). But the lads were careless, and they left clues, so Sherlock Holmes' unheralded step-brother got the goods on them, and they were duly found guilty. Now it transpires that the judge, before sentencing, asked them if they had any words to say to the court. And one of them (I think named Keating) responded by saying something along the lines of, "Yes, I will say that if we ever get the opportunity to act again, we shall do so in the same manner, but next time we shan't be so stupid as to get caught!" Enraged, the judge imposed the death penalty. However, the sentence provoked an international outcry, and it was commuted or indefinitely postponed, and eventually the lads were released.
Some years later, Queen Victoria noted that the PM of Australia had the same name (Somebody Keating) as did the impudent young man who had dissed the judge. She inquired if that were the same Keating as had been convicted decades before. Her Majesty's scribes in due course came back with an affirmative answer. She then inquired about the other two gents. Well one was governor of Wyoming [the American state], and the third had achieved some quite respectable position that I cannot recall at the moment. I do not doubt that in a previous century the PM to-be of Australia would have been hanged in a fortnight!
Regards,
Larry
P.S. I'm just willing to lay a wager- it would be a small one, because I don't know- that Britain led the world in restraining the use of capital punishment. |
