YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT Crime historian Dr Nell Darby answers key questions about the evolution of law and order in the British Isles
Q: How did the criminal justice system as we know it develop in Britain?
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A: Aspects of the modern criminal justice system can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries, such as the introduction of trial by jury, which emerged during the reign of Henry II [r1154–89]. He established that 12 free men should be assigned to act in land disputes, but he also introduced the use of a grand jury in assize courts, where
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12 men had to report crimes in their local area to a judge. Although there were previous systems that involved groups of men making decisions, it was only during this period that the concept developed further and became more recognisably modern. Prior to this, crimes were dealt with using trial by ordeal, which would involve subjecting people to extreme punishments, torturing them to see whether they were guilty or innocent.
ABOVE: A medieval scene shows a suspect being subjected to trial by ordeal – in this case, being submerged in a body of water MAIN: The trial by jury system was introduced by King Henry II
The introduction of trial by jury was a real marker of the civilisation of society, if you like. And then you had Magna Carta in 1215, in which being afforded trial by jury was made an explicit right.
