Did the pageantry of pain at the scaffold actually deter people of crimes during the 18th century?
may have deterred some. but with no real police force, I imagine the chance of being caught was actually quite low.
Nope. There are plenty of accounts of people sentenced to death for crimes (such as pickpocketing) that they committed AT somebody else's public execution..
Nope. There are plenty of accounts of people sentenced to death for crimes (such as pickpocketing) that they committed AT somebody else's public execution.
There were always plenty of clients of the gallows in those days. Some people simply could not stop themselves committing crimes; it was in their nature. Others were probably forced to commit crimes by their circumstances: poverty; homelessness; having to provide for a family.
Probably not. Pick-pockets were said to work in the crowds round the gallows, so they were clearly not deterred. Too many crimes carried the death penalty, and the chances of being caught and convicted were not high. Among criminals hanging was probably seen as a normal risk of the trade. Jonathan Wild, the 'Thief-taker General', married a widow, whose husband had been hanged (with the help, it was rumoured, of Wild) - the public hangman was a guest and danced at the wedding, and Wild himself was hanged later.
