By Jasmine Lalli Introduction: In 1921, Edith Roberts was a 21-year-old, unmarried, factory worker living in Hinckley, Leicestershire. Unbeknownst to her family – with whom she lived – she gave birth secretly in the attic room she shared with her sister. Her stepmother discovered the body of the baby three days later, stuffed in a … Continue reading “‘The very antithesis of womanhood’: Edith Roberts and the Infanticide Acts”
Category: Crime
Catherine Hayes: ‘The sexual predator burnt at the stake for her life of sin’
By Louise McCarthy Born in the West Midlands in 1726, Catherine Hayes was a party to the murder of her husband, alongside Thomas Billing and Thomas Wood. Both men, who were the main actors in the killing, were convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging. Catherine however, was convicted of petty treason, a … Continue reading “Catherine Hayes: ‘The sexual predator burnt at the stake for her life of sin’”
Mary Carpenter and the Birmingham Conference on Juvenile Justice
By Farah Sayeed Juvenile delinquency gradually emerged at the forefront of legal debate during industrialisation, where property laws governing a new urban society caused a rise in the number of juveniles being prosecuted. Peter King notes that juvenile delinquency was, “[…] given a further boost by the strategic use that urban magistrates made of the … Continue reading “Mary Carpenter and the Birmingham Conference on Juvenile Justice”
Programme for the Reform of the Law on Soliciting (P.R.O.S.)
By Eugene Huang Being a sex worker in the 70s and 80s was not easy. Although prostitution itself did not violate the law, numerous activities associated with it were prohibited. This essay focuses on prostitution law around the 1980s and its influence on women by reviewing the campaign of the Programme for Reform of … Continue reading “Programme for the Reform of the Law on Soliciting (P.R.O.S.)”
The murder of Mary Ashford
By Ryan Keating On 26 May 1817, Mary Ashford, a 20-year-old general servant and housekeeper, attended a dance at the Tyburn House in Warwickshire. Also in attendance was a 24-year-old labourer, Abraham Thornton. According to witnesses, Thornton was heard using ‘gross and obscene language’, boasting that he would become intimate with Mary. Later, they danced … Continue reading “The murder of Mary Ashford”