Seeing Justice Done

From the early Middle Ages to the twentieth century, capital punishment in France, as in many other countries, was staged before large crowds of spectators. Paul Friedland traces the theory and practice of public executions over time, both from the perspective of those who staged these punishments as well as from the vantage point of the many thousands who came to 'see justice done'. While penal theorists often stressed that the fundamental purpose of public punishment was to strike fear in the hearts of spectators, the eagerness with which crowds flocked to executions, and the extent to which spectators actually enjoyed the spectacle of suffering suggests that there was a wide gulf between theoretical intentions and actual experiences. Moreover, public executions of animals, effigies, and corpses point to an enduring ritual function that had little to do with exemplary deterrence. In the eighteenth century, when a revolution in sensibilities made it unseemly for individuals to take pleasure in or even witness the suffering of others, capital punishment became the target of reformers. From the invention of the guillotine, which reduced the moment of death to the blink of an eye, to the 1939 decree which moved executions behind prison walls, capital punishment in France was systematically stripped of its spectacular elements. Partly a history of penal theory, partly an anthropologically-inspired study of the penal ritual, Seeing Justice Done traces the historical roots of modern capital punishment, and sheds light on the fundamental 'disconnect' between the theory and practice of punishment which endures to this day, nit only in France but in the Western penal tradition more generally.

A history of public executions in France from the medieval spectacle of suffering to the invention of the Revolutionary guillotine, up to the last public execution in 1939. Paul Friedland explores why spectacles of public execution were staged, as well as why thousands of spectators came to watch them.

Seeing Justice Done is aimed at students and overseas lawyers, and at everyone with the time and inclination to visit the Law Courts and Tribunals of Central London as a spectator. The book describes where each of them is to be found, and what goes on inside them. Prominent lawyers explain the difference between barristers and solicitors, and there are eighteen interviews with individuals involved, willingly or unwillingly, in what lawyers call the administration of justice, ranging from a High Court Judge to a persistent criminal.This book is about people; the people who work in the courts and tribunals, and the people who appear in them. The Judge, the Foreman of the Jury, the Prosecutor, the Accused, the Defence Junior, the Solicitor, the Policeman, the Court Artist, and the Taxi Driver, all give their personal insight into how thing are done. However, nobody could possibly write about London’s law courts without devoting at least a couple of pages to that astonishing extravaganza of Victorian gothic madness, the Royal Courts of Justice. The author also finds space to include items on court dress and behaviour. He relates two contrasting examples of contempt. The first, quoting from Megarry’s Miscellany at Law, of a law report of 1631, written in the debased law French used in law reports at that time, concerns a defendant who ‘ject un brickbat a le dit Justice que narrowly mist & pur ceo immediately fuit Indictment drawn per Noy envers le prisoner, son dexter namus ampute & fix al Gibbet sur que luy mesme immediatement hange in presence de court’. The second, a more recent case of a female witness who extracted from a paper parcel a dead cat, and threw it, inaccurately at the judge. This time there was no amputation, no hanging. The judge merely remarked ‘Madam, if you do that again, I shall commit you for contempt’.

*A New York Times Bestseller* An important overview of the way our justice system works, and why the rule of law is essential to our survival as a society—from the one-time federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, and host of the Doing Justice podcast. Preet Bharara has spent much of his life examining our legal system, pushing to make it better, and prosecuting those looking to subvert it. Bharara believes in our system and knows it must be protected, but to do so, he argues, we must also acknowledge and allow for flaws both in our justice system and in human nature. Bharara uses the many illustrative anecdotes and case histories from his storied, formidable career—the successes as well as the failures—to shed light on the realities of the legal system and the consequences of taking action. Inspiring and inspiringly written, Doing Justice gives us hope that rational and objective fact-based thinking, combined with compassion, can help us achieve truth and justice in our daily lives. Sometimes poignant and sometimes controversial, Bharara's expose is a thought-provoking, entertaining book about the need to find the humanity in our legal system as well as in our society.

I wanted to ask for a divorce. Instead of the fight I expected, she agreed—with a few stipulations, all of which revolved around our son leaving for college in the fall. Keeping those promises would be a challenge, no doubt. But all I had to do was uphold my end of the deal then walk away without a backward glance. Somewhere along the way, our charade became my reality. With each day that passes, I realize time is once again my enemy. I can’t lose her a second time. I’ll never walk away—she healed my soul. Saving Grace is now my only hope.

Today, death sentences in the U.S. are as rare as lightning strikes. Brandon Garrett shows us the reasons why, and explains what the failed death penalty experiment teaches about the effect of inept lawyering, overzealous prosecution, race discrimination, wrongful convictions, and excessive punishments throughout the criminal justice system.

A renowned Harvard professor's brilliant, sweeping, inspiring account of the role of justice in our society--and of the moral dilemmas we face as citizens What are our obligations to others as people in a free society? Should government tax the rich to help the poor? Is the free market fair? Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth? Is killing sometimes morally required? Is it possible, or desirable, to legislate morality? Do individual rights and the common good conflict? Michael J. Sandel's "Justice" course is one of the most popular and influential at Harvard. Up to a thousand students pack the campus theater to hear Sandel relate the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of the day, and this fall, public television will air a series based on the course. Justice offers readers the same exhilarating journey that captivates Harvard students. This book is a searching, lyrical exploration of the meaning of justice, one that invites readers of all political persuasions to consider familiar controversies in fresh and illuminating ways. Affirmative action, same-sex marriage, physician-assisted suicide, abortion, national service, patriotism and dissent, the moral limits of markets—Sandel dramatizes the challenge of thinking through these con?icts, and shows how a surer grasp of philosophy can help us make sense of politics, morality, and our own convictions as well. Justice is lively, thought-provoking, and wise—an essential new addition to the small shelf of books that speak convincingly to the hard questions of our civic life.