Qualities of Mercy: Justice, Punishment, and Discretion - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0774805854 ISBN 13: 9780774805858

Publisher: UBC Press, 1996

Synopsis

Qualities of Mercy deals with the history of mercy, the remittance of punishments in the criminal law. The writers probe the discretionary use of power and inquire how it has been exercised to spare convicted criminals from the full might of the law. Drawing on the history of England, Canada, and Australia in periods when both capital and corporal punishment were still practised, they show that contrary to common assumptions the past was not a time of unmitigated terror and they ask what inspired restraint in punishment. They conclude that the ability to decide who lived and died -- through the exercise or denial of mercy -- reinforced the power structure.

About this title

Review:

This book contains original essays written by leading members of the new generation of historians concerned with criminal law and punishment ... the authors cause us to reflect on how the quest for justice and mercy that has characterized progressive penal policies is being eroded in the present climate of punitiveness. Given its enduring theme and exemplary research, Qualities of Mercy will not only serve as an important history for the present, but also as a lasting influence on scholarship in the future. Author: Richard Erickson, University of British Columbia

From the Author:

Carolyn Strange teaches at the Centre of Criminology at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Toronto's Girl Problem: The Perils and Pleasures of the City, 1880-1930.

About this edition

• Publisher: UBC Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0774805854
• ISBN 13: 9780774805858
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 198
• Editor: Strange Carolyn