Taking fifteen real-life criminal cases prosecuted at the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland between 1700 and 2000, this book explores developments in social attitudes and legal responses to violence. From the last execution for witchcraft to the first prosecution for marital rape, as well as cases of murder, poisoning and infanticide, Scottish History in 15 Violent Crimes examines aspects of masculinity, female agency, emancipation and tolerance. Using these cases to explore how society has and does perceive different violent crimes, the role of gender, attitudes towards homosexuality, fear of ''the other'' and attitudes to capital punishment, Heren compares Scottish examples to others in England and Europe to identify similarities and differences, and to contribute to ongoing debates about gender, crime and the law. Charting the social and legal developments that emerged in response to violent crime, this book asks why people commit such crimes, who they and their victims were, and how far we have really progressed in our attitudes towards and treatment of violence.

Autorentext
Louise Heren is an independent scholar, affiliated to the University of Northampton, researching the history of violent crime in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with a focus on Scotland. Her specialism is male sexual violence.

Inhalt

Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Introduction: People, Society and Scots law since 1700

1. John Martin, 1709: Incest and the Law
2. Janet Horne, 1727: Widows and Witchcraft
3. Barbara Malcolm, 1808: Mothers and Infanticide
4. Tron Rioters, 1811: Riots, Murder and Class Conflict
5. Burke and Hare, 1828: Serial murder, Medicine and the Law
6. Margaret Paterson, 1830: Victim, Accuser and Cadaver
7. Madeleine Smith, 1857: Poison, Gender and Morality
8. Patrick Higgins, 1895: Sexual abuse and Disease
9. Oscar Slater, 1919: Murder and 'The Other'
10. Susan Newell, 1923: Murder, Gender and Insanity
11. Robert Handley, 1926: Capital Punishment and Insanity
    12 Thomas Lutton, 1928: Incest and Illegitimacy
    13 Peter Manuel, 1958: Serial Killer, Mind and Motive
    14 Henry John Burnett, 1963: Adultery and Execution
    15 Johnson Davis Stallard, 1989: Marital Rape and the Law
    Conclusion
    Research Questions & Further Debate
    Bibliography
    Index