Crime Reason And History

This work provides a challenging approach to the study of criminal law, offering a critical introduction to the law's general principles and, in contrast to orthodox criminal law texts, emphasizes the tensions and contradictions that lie at their heart.

Covering criminal justice history on a cross-national basis, this book surveys criminal justice in Western civilization and American life chronologically from ancient times to the present. It is an introduction to the historical problems of crime, law enforcement and penology, set against the background of major historical events and movements. Integrating criminal justice history into the scope of European, British, French and American history, this text provides the opportunity for comparisons of crime and punishment over boundaries of national histories. The text concludes with a chapter that addresses terrorism and homeland security. * Spans all of western history, and examines the core beliefs about human nature and society that informed the development of criminal justice systems. The fifth edition gives increased coverage of American law enforcement, corrections, and legal systems * Each chapter is enhanced with supplemental "Timeline," "Time Capsule," and "Featured Outlaw" boxes as well as discussion questions, notes and problems * Contains discussion questions, notes, learning objectives, key terms lists, biographical vignettes of key historical figures, and "History Today" exercises to engage the reader and encourage critical thinking

"It is eight years since the first edition of this book was published. Where relevant, I have sought to update the argument with new case and statute law. I have also developed the analysis, especially in Chapter 3, where a closer link between the two main sections, on motive and intention and indirect intention, is established"--

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

This fifth volume in the distinguished series on the history of Canadian law turns to the important issues of crime and criminal justice. In examining crime and criminal law specifically, the volume contributes to the long-standing concern of Canadian historians with law, order, and authority. The volume covers criminal justice history at various times in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. It is a study which opens up greater vistas of understanding to all those interested in the interstices of law, crime, and punishment.