Conley_FM_3rd.qxp 3/20/2007 1:36 PM Page i HISTORY OF CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE David R. Johnson and Jeffrey S. Adler, Series Editors Conley_FM_3rd.qxp 3/20/2007 1:36 PM Page ii Conley_FM_3rd.qxp 3/20/2007 1:36 PM Page iii Certain Other Countries Homicide, Gender, and National Identity in Late Nineteenth-Century England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales CAROLYN A. CONLEY The Ohio State University Press Columbus Conley_FM_3rd.qxp 3/20/2007 1:36 PM Page iv Copyright © 2007 by The Ohio State University. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Conley, Carolyn A., 1953– Certain other countries : homicide, gender, and national identity in late nine- teenth-century England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales / Carolyn A. Conley. p. cm. — (History of crime and criminal justice) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8142-1051-2 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8142-1051-1 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-8142-9131-3 (cd-rom) ISBN-10: 0-8142-9131-7 (cd-rom) 1. Homicide—Great Britain—History—19th century—Case studies. 2. Criminal behavior—Great Britain—History—19th century. 3. Murderers— Great Britain—Psychology. 4. Prejudices—Great Britain—History—19th century. 5. Social status—Great Britain—History—19th century. 6. Marginality, Social—Great Britain—History—19th century. I. Title. HV6535.G4C66 2007 364.152'3094109034—dc22 2006031692 Cover design by Larry Nozik Type set in Adobe Garamond Printed by Thomson-Shore, Inc. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48-1992. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Conley_FM_3rd.qxp 3/20/2007 1:36 PM Page v TO JOHN DOUGLAS CONLEY WITH MUCH THANKS Conley_FM_3rd.qxp 3/20/2007 1:36 PM Page vi Conley_FM_3rd.qxp 3/20/2007 1:36 PM Page vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Homicides—Procedures, Perceptions, and Statistics 7 Chapter 2 National Identity: Foreigners and Strangers 39 Chapter 3 Class, Gender, and the Fair Fight 68 Chapter 4 Family and Courtship 95 Chapter 5 Husbands and Wives 124 Chapter 6 Children 162 Conclusion 206 Notes 211 Bibliography 241 Index 253 Conley_FM_3rd.qxp 3/20/2007 1:36 PM Page viii Conley_FM_3rd.qxp 3/20/2007 1:36 PM Page ix Acknowledgments One of the ironies of studying violent crime for twenty-five years is that I have met very nice people. I am enormously grateful to Jeff Adler, for encour- aging this project as well as for his friendship and his sage advice about his- tory, teaching, and dogs. The Criminal Justice Network of the Social Science History Association and its international counterpart, the International Association for the History of Crime and Criminal Justice (IAHCCJ), are made up of the pleas- antest group of working scholars I have ever encountered. I wish to thank members who have read and commented on various parts of this work, espe- cially Martin Wiener, who must have felt at times that he could not go to a conference without having to read yet another draft of my work. I am also very grateful for the suggestions and encouragement of John Archer, Andrew Davies, Clive Emsley, Kim Stevenson, Judith Rowbotham, and Shani D’Cruze. Thanks to my colleagues at UAB, especially Michael McConnell, who never fails to provide keen insight even when presented with the most gar- bled prose. A number of graduate assistants have also helped along the way: Howard Fox, Kurt Kinbacher, Averil Ramsey, John Springer, Pam Jones, Brian Barsanti, Nilanjana Majumdar, Tim Pittenger, Autumn Wilson, Joshua Bearden, Christopher Null, and John Kevin Pocus. I am also very grateful for the patience, skill, and good cheer of Tamekka Hayden. The staffs at the National Library of Scotland and at the British Newspaper at Colindale were particularly helpful. Some of my research was funded by The American Philosophical Society and the NSF ADVANCE program. My friends and family continue to tolerate a process which does not get any easier. Their amazing patience keeps the issue of domestic discord a pure- ly academic one. Finally, thank you so much to Wendy Gunther-Canada, who has saved me both literally and figuratively more times than I can count. She is a wonder- ful scholar and the best friend imaginable. ix Conley_FM_3rd.qxp 3/20/2007 1:36 PM Page x Conley_Intro fix.qxp 4/23/2007 9:24 AM Page 1 Introduction No money is wasted which is employed in maintaining the administra- tion of justice in the highest degree of efficiency. That administration is probably the one effectual check upon the ungoverned and ungovernable passions of rough and rude life. It is the great educator of the ignorant and the violent. (The Times)1 Welshmen believed that if God ever did delegate his privilege of depriv- ing a human being of his life to a man or a society, that this prerogative was withdrawn by his only son . it is no wonder that Welshmen are horrified at the idea of giving evidence against a guilty fiend in human form, being that the evidence will be the means of consigning him reek- ing with the innocent blood of his victim into the presence of his offend- ed Maker, therefore to be hurled headlong into that abyss of torment. But the abolition of capital punishment would solve the problem, sponge out once and for ever that damned and infernal law by which poor, frail, impotent mortals usurp the power of the Omnipotent—a law conceived in revenge and executed in iniquitous cold-bloodedness. Let this be done and no murderer shall be screened or harbored in Wales. (Carmarthen Weekly Reporter)2 By common consent of all thinkers on the subject of criminal jurispru- dence, it is not the severity of punishments which deters from crime; it is the increasing certainty of detection and conviction which is really effi- cacious. To attain this certainty in ever increasing degree it is essential to convince the minds of witnesses, injured parties, and jurymen not mere- ly that the general spirit of the law is mild, but that punishment is likely to be awarded not more than fairly proportionate to the crime. Capricious leniency occurring along with occasional unexplained severi- ty is as injurious to the due operation of Criminal Courts as the bad sys- tem of excessive punishment. Nor is there any great difficulty in see- ing the general principles upon which punishments might be reduced to system, these being mainly two-fold—to weigh the mischief done by the criminal act and also the malice or anti-social nature displayed by the offender. (The Scotsman)3 1 Conley_Intro fix.qxp 4/23/2007 9:24 AM Page 2 2 Introduction The moral of this occurrence is very trite. The case is not one for which a remedy can be suggested, as if it sprung out of any form of oppression, with which the legislature might deal. The affair is rather an example of that passionate disposition which, we fear, marks the Irish character in some excess. Such passion will certainly be restrained to some extent by the certainty that punishment will follow its indulgence. Until, however, society is wonderfully improved, it would be too sanguine to entertain any confidence that we shall be quite free from the occasional blot upon our records of such melancholy transactions. (Cork Examiner)4 U Homicide has always held a special fascination for the public. Understanding what drives one human to take another’s life has been the stuff of countless works ranging from pulp fiction to scientific treatise. Ultimately determining why one individual killed another is always an act of speculation. The excuse offered by the killer, the motive suspected by the arresting officer, and the explanations offered by the prosecuting and defending attorneys rarely corre- spond exactly. If a caregiver kills an elderly, wealthy, and cantankerous rela- tive, whether the perceived motive was greed, mercy, fatigue, or resentment will depend as much on the observer’s assumptions about human nature as the killer’s actual incentive at the time. Which assumptions dominate deter- mines the fate of the accused killer and reveals a great deal about the values and beliefs of the large society. By examining homicide trials, their outcomes, and the rhethoric surrounding them, it is possible to glean a good deal of infor- mation about both common wisdom and practical realities.5 In the nine- teenth-century United Kingdom, homicide trials provided a forum for dis- cussing such issues as class, respectability, gender roles, family life, the role of the state, individual responsibility, the definition of insanity, the costs of industrialization, and the effects and regulation of firearms and alcohol. This book will compare the response to and perceptions of criminal homicides in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales between 1867 and 1892.6 After the Act of Union abolished the Irish parliament in 1801, the four nations of the United Kingdom shared a common parliament for the first time. The last third of the nineteenth century was a time of considerable change in the United Kingdom. The Second Reform Bill of 1867 created the largest increase in the electorate in British history. Though the political changes arguably had little effect on the homicide rate, the post-Reform Act Conley_Intro fix.qxp 4/23/2007 9:24 AM Page 3 Introduction 3 Parliament did pass a great deal of legislation aimed at addressing social prob- lems. Laissez-faire Liberalism was being challenged by a philosophy which accepted the ameliorative role of the state.