... influenced the number of capital offences being brought to court. Another component that contributed to the rise in crimes punishable by death is that there were many social upheavals during this period, such as the Civil Wars between 1626-40 and 1646-51; in times of moral panic, deviant behaviour which would be ignored in more stable periods were prosecuted, and a higher proportion of deviant behaviour consequently appeared in the court records. Lord Macaulay, investigating the widespread violence in England during the reign of Charles the Second, quoted, "No traveller ventured into that country without making his will...The irregular vigour with which criminal justice was administered shocked observers whose life had been passed in more tranquil districts. Juries, animated by hatred and by a sense of common danger, convicted housebreakers and cattle stealers with the promptitude of acourt martial in a mutiny; and the convicts were hurried by scores to the gallows." Similarly, ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now