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Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan Times Essay Example

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Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan Times Essay Example
Elizabethan Crime and Punishment
Elizabethan Crime and Punishment - A Public Spectacle
Elizabethan England and Elizabethan Crime and Punishment - not a happy subject. Violent times. Crimes were met with violent, cruel punishments. Many punishments and executions were witnessed by many hundreds of people. The Lower Classes treated such events as exciting days out. Even royalty were subjected to this most public form of punishment for their crimes. The execution of the tragic Anne Boleyn was restricted to the Upper Classes and Nobility and was witnessed by several hundred spectators!

ELIZABETHAN CRIMES OF THE NOBILITY
Elizabethan England was split into two classes - the Upper Class, the nobility and courtiers, and everyone else! Punishment would vary according to class. The Upper class were well educated, wealthy and associated with Royalty and high members of the clergy. They would often become involved in Political intrigue and matters of Religion. The nobility could therefore become involved in crime which were not shared by other people. Just being accused of one of the serious crimes could well result in torture. A Defendant's chances in receiving any acquittal in court extremely slim. Trials were designed in the favour of the prosecutors and defendants accused any of the following crimes were not even allowed legal counsel! The most common crimes of the Nobility included:

High Treason
Blasphemy
Sedition
Spying
Rebellion
Murder
Witchcraft
Alchemy
ELIZABETHAN CRIMES OF THE COMMONERS
Many crimes committed by commoners were through sheer desperation and abject poverty. The most common crimes were:

Theft
Cut purses
Begging
Poaching
Adultery
Debtors
Forgers
Fraud
Dice coggers
Theft for stealing anything over 5 pence resulted in hanging - a terrible price to pay for poor people who were starving. Even such small crimes such as stealing birds eggs could result in the death sentence. Punishment for poaching crimes differed according to
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