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Hanging in Judgment: Religion and the Death Penalty in England
Comprehensive history of capital punishment in England which shows how and why the Church of England repeatedly fought against its abolition.
- GenresHistory
306 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1993
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About the author
Harry Potter
45 books15 followersHarry Potter is a lawyer and writer. Publications include:
Hanging in Judgment: Religion and the Death Penalty from the Bloody Code to Abolition, SCM, 1993.
Hanging and Heresy, Kent University Press, 1994.
Father Diamond of Deptford, (ed) Ditchling Press, 1994.
Blood Feud: The Stewarts and Gordons at War in the Age of Mary Queen of Scots, Tempus 2002.
Edinburgh Under Siege 1571-1573, Tempus, 2003.
Professional Memberships:
Criminal Bar Association
Interests:
Classical languages and culture, Egyptology, Opera, Bridge, Numismatics, Astronomy, History, American Studies.
Positions of Responsibility:
1984 Ordained priest in the Church of England
1984-7 Fellow, Selwyn College Cambridge
1992- Vice Chair of Trustees of the 999 Club, Deptford
2002-6 Liberal Democrat Councillor in Greenwich
Governor of Christ's Hospital and Eltham Green Specialist Sports College.
Hanging in Judgment: Religion and the Death Penalty from the Bloody Code to Abolition, SCM, 1993.
Hanging and Heresy, Kent University Press, 1994.
Father Diamond of Deptford, (ed) Ditchling Press, 1994.
Blood Feud: The Stewarts and Gordons at War in the Age of Mary Queen of Scots, Tempus 2002.
Edinburgh Under Siege 1571-1573, Tempus, 2003.
Professional Memberships:
Criminal Bar Association
Interests:
Classical languages and culture, Egyptology, Opera, Bridge, Numismatics, Astronomy, History, American Studies.
Positions of Responsibility:
1984 Ordained priest in the Church of England
1984-7 Fellow, Selwyn College Cambridge
1992- Vice Chair of Trustees of the 999 Club, Deptford
2002-6 Liberal Democrat Councillor in Greenwich
Governor of Christ's Hospital and Eltham Green Specialist Sports College.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 1, 2011
The best Harry Potter book!
I was always concerned about whether or not Harry was getting a good education at Hogwarts. The curriculum always seemed to be disproportionately slanted towards new age subject matter. Even core subjects such as history and mathematics were presented through a mystical paradigm. This is not what I would expect from an elite boarding school.
It turns out that Harry himself may not have found the path to a Hogwarts diploma to be academically rigorous enough in at least one field: criminal justice. In this book, Harry analyzes the development of executions in England from the early 1800s until the middle twentieth century. Followers of Harry’s narrative adventures will be interested to know that Harry is an exceptional chronicler of capital punishment. What they may be disappointed to know, however, is that his intellectual pursuits do not overlap significantly with his social sphere. You will not read any mentions of such beloved characters as “freckles”, “Gandalf”, “Lindsay Lohan” or “the unwashed Santa Claus guy who lives by the train tracks with his dogs”. Harry does examine the perspectives of figures such as writer Charles Dickens, executioner James Berry and Randall Davidson, the Archbishop of Canterbury, yet erstwhile rivals such as “very blonde guy” and “the bad guy who turned out to be a good guy after all” are nowhere to be found. It is also surprising that Harry does not elaborate on the British death penalty as it was applied to practitioners of magic. We are left wondering whether Harry believes that the death penalty is an effective deterrent for heinous crimes: would Harry interdict the ultimate punishment for his nemesis, "He Who Has Salamander Nostrils"?
This book has not been met with the same level of enthusiasm as other Harry Potter products, perhaps because the subject matter is more specialized. I fear that the scholarship here will be regarded as superfluous and unrelated to the more popular Harry Potter titles, kind of like the time Bruce Willis had to save us from when Snape tried to steal $600 million in investment bonds from the Nakatomi Corporation. But like the old saying goes, "you don't really know someone until you find out how much they know about turn of the century penal code reform". I get the feeling that true Harry Potter fans will have not only already read this title but are also itching to buy tickets for the movie version. I for one would love to see Jennifer Tilly as Queen Victoria!
I was always concerned about whether or not Harry was getting a good education at Hogwarts. The curriculum always seemed to be disproportionately slanted towards new age subject matter. Even core subjects such as history and mathematics were presented through a mystical paradigm. This is not what I would expect from an elite boarding school.
It turns out that Harry himself may not have found the path to a Hogwarts diploma to be academically rigorous enough in at least one field: criminal justice. In this book, Harry analyzes the development of executions in England from the early 1800s until the middle twentieth century. Followers of Harry’s narrative adventures will be interested to know that Harry is an exceptional chronicler of capital punishment. What they may be disappointed to know, however, is that his intellectual pursuits do not overlap significantly with his social sphere. You will not read any mentions of such beloved characters as “freckles”, “Gandalf”, “Lindsay Lohan” or “the unwashed Santa Claus guy who lives by the train tracks with his dogs”. Harry does examine the perspectives of figures such as writer Charles Dickens, executioner James Berry and Randall Davidson, the Archbishop of Canterbury, yet erstwhile rivals such as “very blonde guy” and “the bad guy who turned out to be a good guy after all” are nowhere to be found. It is also surprising that Harry does not elaborate on the British death penalty as it was applied to practitioners of magic. We are left wondering whether Harry believes that the death penalty is an effective deterrent for heinous crimes: would Harry interdict the ultimate punishment for his nemesis, "He Who Has Salamander Nostrils"?
This book has not been met with the same level of enthusiasm as other Harry Potter products, perhaps because the subject matter is more specialized. I fear that the scholarship here will be regarded as superfluous and unrelated to the more popular Harry Potter titles, kind of like the time Bruce Willis had to save us from when Snape tried to steal $600 million in investment bonds from the Nakatomi Corporation. But like the old saying goes, "you don't really know someone until you find out how much they know about turn of the century penal code reform". I get the feeling that true Harry Potter fans will have not only already read this title but are also itching to buy tickets for the movie version. I for one would love to see Jennifer Tilly as Queen Victoria!
March 27, 2023
This is a fascinating take on a macabre subject, showing how the Anglican Church did much to pepetuate and legitmate capital punishment until doing a volte-face in the sixties, one which was crucial to its demise.
In fact at the time it was the only book to cover the entire period in English history from the Bloody Code in the eighteenth century to abolition in 1969.
Appart from the vast amount of research that must have gone into this book, it is very well-written (as are all other books by this author). Compelling
In fact at the time it was the only book to cover the entire period in English history from the Bloody Code in the eighteenth century to abolition in 1969.
Appart from the vast amount of research that must have gone into this book, it is very well-written (as are all other books by this author). Compelling
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews