Criminal Law for Criminologists uses theoretical and practical research to bridge the gap between ‘the law in the books’ (criminal law doctrine) and ‘the law in action’ (criminal justice process). It introduces the key policies and principles that drive criminal law in England and then explains the law itself in terms of relevant statute and case law. Starting with an outline of the basic principles and theories of criminal law and criminal justice, the author goes on to discuss: Criminal law and criminal justice in historical perspective, General principles of criminal law, including actus reus and mens rea, Specific types of criminal offence, including property, homicide, sexual, public order and drug offences, An overview of defences to crime, An appendix outlining essential legal skills. In examining the links between the worlds of criminal law and criminal justice, Criminal Law for Criminologists brings a fresh perspective to this field of research. Written in a clear and direct style, this book will be essential reading for students of criminology, criminal justice, law, cultural studies, social theory, and those interested in gaining an introduction to criminal law.

How was law made in England in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries? Through detailed studies of what the courts actually did, Peter King argues that parliament and the Westminster courts played a less important role in the process of law making than is usually assumed. Justice was often remade from the margins by magistrates, judges and others at the local level. His book also focuses on four specific themes - gender, youth, violent crime and the attack on customary rights. In doing so it highlights a variety of important changes - the relatively lenient treatment meted out to women by the late eighteenth century, the early development of the juvenile reformatory in England before 1825, i.e. before similar changes on the continent or in America, and the growing intolerance of the courts towards everyday violence. This study is invaluable reading to anyone interested in British political and legal history.

A comparative and collaborative study of the foundational principles and concepts that underpin different domestic systems of criminal law.

This open access book is the culmination of many years of research on what happened to the bodies of executed criminals in the past. Focusing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it looks at the consequences of the 1752 Murder Act. These criminal bodies had a crucial role in the history of medicine, and the history of crime, and great symbolic resonance in literature and popular culture. Starting with a consideration of the criminal corpse in the medieval and early modern periods, chapters go on to review the histories of criminal justice, of medical history and of gibbeting under the Murder Act, and ends with some discussion of the afterlives of the corpse, in literature, folklore and in contemporary medical ethics. Using sophisticated insights from cultural history, archaeology, literature, philosophy and ethics as well as medical and crime history, this book is a uniquely interdisciplinary take on a fascinating historical phenomenon.

Eve Was Framed offers an impassioned, personal critique of the British legal system. Helena Kennedy focuses on the treatment of women in our courts - at the prejudices of judges, the misconceptions of jurors, the labyrinths of court procedures and the influence of the media. But the inequities she uncovers could apply equally to any disadvantaged group - to those whose cases are subtly affected by race, class poverty or politics, or who are burdened, even before they appear in court, by misleading stereotypes.