INDEX.

A

ABSURDITY of not repealing old penal laws, 10, 74.

Abolition of capital punishments in all cases except treason and murder, 256.

--in America except for treason and murder, lost by a single vote, ibid.
-in many cases in Pennsylvania, 256.

Acceleration of execution, proposal for, 3.

Accusations in England, all public, 9.

Adair, Serjeant, his opinion, 208.

Alphabetical list of crimes punished by death in England, 82.

Ambition, avarice, revenge, dictates of, adopted in forming criminal laws, 8.

Amendment and revision of criminal law wanted, 9.

of the delinquent, 77.

of criminal law, duty of legislature, 78.

Amsterdam, executions in, 243.

America, penal laws of, 255.

different states of same offences differently punished, 257.

Antient common law, too scrupulous an adherence to, 9.

Antwerp, executions in, 247.

--, torture in, ibid.

Avarice, ambition, revenge, dictates of, adopted

Appendix to thoughts on executive justice, 115.

in forming criminal laws, 8

Arbitrary and uncertain penalties less inflicted in England than in other coun-

tri

tries, 9.

Arson, 202.

not capital in Pennsylvania, 273.

Attempt to prevent prevalent offences by capital punishment, 2.

Attention and care of the legislature ought to be equal to the importance of

criminal law, 8.

want of, in framing new penal laws, 9.

Authority for inflicting the punishment of death, doubts of, 3, 5, 10, 20, 47,

55, 74, 121, 170, 289, 292.

Augsburg, executions in, 241.

BACON, Lord, his opinions, 61.

Banishment, 221.

B

Beccaria, Montesquieu, &c. on the impolicy of the laws of their own country,
9, 18.

Bentham, his opinions, 211.

Bills, supported, and penalties enacted, by the interests and passions of a few, 9.

Blackstone, his opinions, 8.

Boerhave, his sentiments upon seeing a criminal, 2.

Bradford, his pamphlet, 248.

Burglary, its frequency in England, 96, 197.

--, doubts whether it ought to be capital, 198.

Burglary, different offences included under this word, 212.

not capital in Pennsylvania, 265.

Brunswick, executions in, 243.

C

CAPITAL punishment, authority for inflicting, doubted by good men, 5.

-, frequency of, rarely prevents crime, ibid.

-, prevents detection, ibid.

-, not necessary, because efficacious, 14.

-, necessary in all states, 184.

-, ought not to be aggravated by torture, ibid.

doubt if ever beneficial where pardons are allowed, 250,

-, opposed by all the most respectable authors, 289.

-, argues incapacity in legislators-290.

-, origin of, ibid.

Capital offences in France before the revolution, list of, 89.

Care and attention of the legislature ought to be equal to the importance of

criminal law, 8.

want of, in framing new penal laws, 9.

Causes of pardons, 4.

Caution requisite in framing criminal laws, 14.

Certainty of punishment, necessity of, 78, 95, 97, 116, 117,

-, its nature and advantages. 147.

-, for every offence unattainable, ibid.

-, how procured, 154.

-, depends upon the approbation of the laws, 220.

-, prevents crime, 251.

-, its importance, 252, 281, 287.

Character, general opinion that evidence should be received of, 73.
Charge to grand jury by Mr. Baron Perryn, 118.

Christianity, spirit of, to reform and to advance kindness, 46, 47.

-, sanguinary laws inconsistent with, 48.

-, punishment of death inconsistent with, 60.

Christians, doubts whether they ought to punish capitally, 121,
Chinese authors, opinions of, upon severe laws, 36.

China, laws of, 16.

-punishment in, 44.

Clarkson, Mr. his opinions, 45.

Clergy, benefit of, extended to persons who cannot read, 81.

Coining, punishment of, in Pennsylvania not capital, 271.

and in other states, ibid.

Colquhoun, Dr. his opinions, 70.

Common law antient, too scrupulous an adherence to, 9.

Committee to revise laws once a century, 10.

Complication of English penal laws, 199.

Continuance of barbarous laws, caused by negligence of legislators, 248.

Corruption by disobedience to laws, 29.

by severe laws, 39.

Corporal punishment not allowed in Philadelphia prison, 50.

-pains, substitution of, for capital punishments, 188.
Criminal law, upon what principles it should be founded, 8.

should be comformable to truth and justice, ibid.

to humanity and the rights of mankind, ibid,
may be modified, according to necessities of state, ibid.

Criminal law in England, state of, 105.

prosecutions, motives for, 128.

jurisprudence, progress of this science, ibid.

Criminal, state of his mind when violating the law, 149.
Criminals in England, committing offences after acquittal, 73.
Crime and punishment, disproportion of, 2, 3, 4.

-, frequency of, rarely prevented by capital punishment, 5.

-, misery of, 71.

-, frequency of, in England, 72.

-, mode of estimating its enormity, 33, 76, 80.

-, occasioned by pardons, 117.

occasioned by hope of mercy, ibid.

-, against nature, 264.

Crimes more accurately defined in England than in other countries, 9.

and punishments, proportion between, 15.

more effectually prevented by certainty, than severity, 18.

punishable by death, ought to be clearly defined, 162.

punishable by death in England, 82.

diminished by one half, since the mitigation of severity in America, 52,

Crown law in England more perfect than in other countries, 8.

Cruelty and cowardice, inseparable, 197.

DAMIEN, 194.

D

Death, the greatest of all punishments known to man, 4, 250.

-, should be reserved as punishment for murder, 4.

-, fear of, its force and effect, 22, 93.

-, infliction of, supposes a new crime, 23.

-, punishment of, its effect upon accomplices, 4, 5.

-, at once useful and useless, 23.

-, ought to be in private, 33.

-, for example, 105.

-, as prevention, 225.

-, its importance manifest in criminal courts, 250.

---, proposal to throw murderers into a den of wild beasts, 33.

Denmark, executions in, 243.

-, laws of, 174, 252.

Decemviri, laws of, 15.

Desertion, 37, 251.

Delinquents in England judged by their equals, and personally unexceptionable

to them, 9.

Detection, prevented by capital punishment, 5.

-, of early crimes, its importance, ibid.

Disproportion of crime and punishment, 2, 3, 10.

Difficulty of prevention, not a sufficient justification for punishing capitally, 14.
Different feelings excited by capital punishments for different crimes, 211.

Dormant laws, list of, 10.

Doubts of the authority for inflicting capital punishments. 3.

Duty of individuals to point out evils, 10.

Draco, his laws, 47, 79, 119, 120, 127, 130.

EDEN, his opinions, 179.

E

Education, its importance, 54, 80, 156, 253.

Efficacy of severity, opinion of, 3.

lasting, given to sanctions which ought to have been temporary, 8.
England, torture unknown in, 9.

Effects and mitigation of punishment in Pennsylvania, 262, 267.

England, crown law more perfect than in other countries, 9.

-, penalties less uncertain and arbitrary, ibid.

all accusations public, and trials in the face of the world, ibid.
-, delinquents in, judged by their equals, personally unexceptionable

to them. ibid.

English law, severity of, 17.

-, severe, and crimes numerous, 251.

Englishmen daily offend against laws, 174.

Enacting of penalties which affect the whole, ought not to be left to a few, 9.

Enormity of crime, reason for punishing with death, 13.

Erasmus, his opinion, 59.

Estimate of malignity of offence, 3.

Europe, modern laws of, 251.

Evils of mitigation of sentences, 4.

--, dormant laws, 10.

Example, 77.

-, what punishments best for, 78.

--, punishment considered as, 276.

Execution, proposal for accelerating, 3.

-, excites compassion and indignation, 22.

-, its effect on the multitude, ibid.

-, number of, in England, 104.

-, number of, in England, shocking to humanity, ibid.

-, of innocent men, 143.

-, of Ann Hurle, and M. Spalding, 210.

-, places of, deserted, 284.

Executioner despised, 25.

detested, 284.

Executive Justice, thoughts on, 95.

Exile, 31.

Experience of past times, shews the inefficacy of capital punishment, 3.

- of all nations in favor of capital punishments, 26.

Expense of prosecution should be defrayed by the public, 77.

F

FEELINGS in favor of all but murderers, 4.
Fear and hope, their effects, 18.

--of death, its force and effect, 22, 23.

Fine, 49.

Florence, executions in, 246.

Forgery, 12, 34, 47, 200, 150.

-, of negotiable securities, 35.

-, of securities not negotiable, ibid.

-, amongst the Romans, 201.

-, multiplicity of English laws relating to, 202.

-, ought not to be punished capitally, 259.

-, and is not in most states in America, ibid.

France, laws of, 16.

-, certainty of laws in, 97.

-, capital offences in, list of before the revolution, 89.

Franklin, Dr. his letter, 161.

Frankfort, executions in, 244.

French ideas of frequency of burglaries in England, 96.

Frequency of crimes in England, 96, 106, 165, 225.

-, not sufficient reason for punishing with death, 14.

Frequency of capital punishments rarely prevents

rents crime, 5.

prevents detection, ibid.

loses its effect, 137.

G

GAMING, punishable by death in Japan, 40.

Gaoler in Philadelphia prison, 50.

Geneva, executions in, 247.

Goldsmith, Dr. his opinions, 165.

Grand juries, cautions to be observed by, 126.

HANGING in chains, 2, 189.

Hale, Sir Matthew, his sentiments, 13.

H

Hard labour, 78, 146, 176, 254, 280, 294.

Hanover, torture in, 241.

High treason, 8, 9, 194, 195, 252.

Hope that juries will acquit, from severity of the punishment, 87.

-

- of avoiding detection, ibid.

of tampering with evidence, ibid.

of mercy from same cause, ibid.

- occasions crime, 116.

Howard, 228.

Holland, executions in, 240.

Horse stealing is not punished with death in some states in America, 257.
Humanity and the rights of mankind, criminal law should be comformable to, 8.

Human sacrifices, 26.

IDLENESS, parent of crime, 177.

Ignominy, power of, 280.

Imprisonment, 23, 49, 198, 249.

I

Improvements in the criminal law of England, 81, 82.

Impropriety of discontinuing pardons in England, 150.

of aggravating the punishment of death, 197.

Importance of criminal law ought to be equalled by care and attention in the

legislature, 8.

Impunity of criminals causes crime, 38, 252.

evils of, 182.

Inattention in making offences, capital in England, 74.

Increase of punishment, proposal for, 3.

of rapine, notwithstanding severe penalty, ibid.

of violence notwithstanding severe penalty, ibid.

Inefficacy of capital punishment from the experience of past times, ibid.

of former punishments not a sufficient justification for punishing capi-

tally, 14.

Inconsistency of penal laws of England, 132, 133.

Indian law, 251.

Infamy ought to be the heaviest part of punishment, 38.
Inhumanity and mistaken policy of the laws of other nations pointed out by

Montesquieu, Beccaria, &c. 9.

Innovation, caution with which it should proceed, 256.

Innocence, upon what principle punishable, 138.

Insufficiency of the present laws of England, 72.

Insults to men on the scaffold, 185.

Interests and passions of a few, enact penalties which affect the whole, 9.

J

JAPAN, laws of, produce contempt for death, 40, 139,

-

-, punish all crimes with death, 40.

-, mildness of their education, 40.