Springer has published a new book
on the history of capital punishment in the Australian Colonies.
ABOUT THE BOOK
This book provides a
comprehensive overview of capital punishment in the Australian colonies for the
very first time. The author illuminates all aspects of the penalty, from
shortcomings in execution technique, to the behaviour of the dying criminal,
and the antics of the scaffold crowd. Mercy rates, execution numbers, and
capital crimes are explored alongside the transition from public to private
executions and the push to abolish the death penalty completely. Notions of
culture and communication freely pollinate within a conceptual framework of
penal change that explains the many transformations the death penalty
underwent. A vast array of sources are assembled into one compelling argument
that shows how the ‘lesson’ of the gallows was to be safeguarded, refined, and
improved at all costs. This concise and engaging work will be a lasting
resource for students, scholars, and general readers who want an in-depth
understanding of a long feared punishment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Steven Anderson is
a Visiting Research Fellow in the History Department at The University of
Adelaide, Australia. His academic research explores the role of capital
punishment in the Australian colonies by situating developments in these
jurisdictions within global contexts and conceptual debates.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: Thinking About
Punishment Over Time
Australia’s Hanging Years
The Ideal and Reality of
Execution Procedure
The Criminal at the Gallows
The Scaffold Crowd
The End of Public Executions
Race and the Reprisal of Public
Hangings
The Push to Abolish Capital
Punishment
Conclusion: Death of a Spectacle
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