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Loading... Hanged by the neck : an exposure of capital punishment in England (1956)by Arthur Koestler
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Polemic, anti-capital punishment tract that was put out (1961) a few years before hanging was abolished in the UK (1965). Frankly, I was not impressed by much of the book. A great deal of time is spent discussing the iniquities of capital punishment as it was imposed in the 18th and 19th centuries, which was of relatively little relevance to how it was imposed ca. 1961. There is also a sneering, snotty tone toward the other side of the debate that frankly is off-putting. The only part of the book that I found interesting was a catalogue of the hangings that took place in the post-war era, and how many involved people for whom mercy had been recommended, or had some mental health issues. There's apparently another book that came out at the same time, called "Hanged in Error," also by Penguin, which I intend to read to see if it's a better argument. Not recommended. ( ) no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesPenguin Special (S197) Is abridged in
Reflections on Hanging is a searing indictment of capital punishment, inspired by its author's own time in the shadow of a firing squad. During the Spanish Civil War, Arthur Koestler was held by the Franco regime as a political prisoner, and condemned to death. He was freed, but only after months of witnessing the fates of less-fortunate inmates. That experience informs every page of the book, which was first published in England in 1956, and followed in 1957 by this American edition. As Koestler ranges across the history of capital punishment in Britain (with a focus on hanging), he looks at notable cases and rulings, and portrays politicians, judges, lawyers, scholars, clergymen, doctors, police, jailers, prisoners, and others involved in the long debate over the justness and effectiveness of the death penalty. In Britain, Reflections on Hanging was part of a concerted, ultimately successful effort to abolish the death penalty. At that time, in the forty-eight United States, capital punishment was sanctioned in forty-two of them, with hanging still practiced in five. This edition includes a preface and afterword written especially for the 1957 American edition. The preface makes the book relevant to readers in the U.S.; the afterword overviews the modern-day history of abolitionist legislation in the British Parliament. Reflections on Hanging is relentless, biting, and unsparing in its details of botched and unjust executions. It is a classic work of advocacy for some of society's most defenseless members, a critique of capital punishment that is still widely cited, and an enduring work that presaged such contemporary problems as the sensationalism of crime, the wrongful condemnation of the innocent and mentally ill, the callousness of penal systems, and the use of fear to control a citizenry. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)364.66Social sciences Social problems and services; associations Criminology Punishment Death penaltyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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