Torture And the Law of Proof

by Langbein, John H.

• ISBN13: 9780226468945
• ISBN10: 0226468941
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-08-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

InTorture and the Law of ProofJohn H. Langbein explores the world of the thumbscrew and the rack, engines of torture authorized for investigating crime in European legal systems from medieval times until well into the eighteenth century. Drawing on juristic literature and legal records, Langbein's book, first published in 1977, remains the definitive account of how European legal systems became dependent on the use of torture in their routine criminal procedures, and how they eventually worked themselves free of it. The book has recently taken on an eerie relevance as a consequence of controversial American and British interrogation practices in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In a new introduction, Langbein contrasts the "new" law of torture with the older European law and offers some pointed lessons about the difficulty of reconciling coercion with accurate investigation. Embellished with fascinating illustrations of torture devices taken from an eighteenth-century criminal code, this crisply written account will engage all those interested in torture's remarkable grip on European legal history.

Author Biography

John H. Langbein is the Sterling Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale University. He is the editor or author of several books, including most recently The Origins of Adversary Criminal Trial.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition	ix
Preface	xv
1 Europe Judicial Torture
1 Torture and the Law of Proof	3	(24)
The Jurisprudence of Torture	4	(1)
The Origins of Judicial Torture	5	(3)
The Classical Critique of Judicial Torture	8	(2)
Abolition and the Fairy Tale	10	(2)
Note I. The Law of Torture	12	(4)
Note II. Torturing the Convicted	16	(11)
2 The Transformation of Criminal Sanctions	27	(18)
The Blood Sanctions	27	(1)
Medieval Imprisonment	28	(1)
The Galley Sentence	29	(4)
The Workhouse	33	(5)
Imprisonment	38	(1)
Transportation	39	(4)
Europe and England	43	(2)
3 The Revolution in the Law of Proof	45	(16)
Poena extraordinaria	45	(2)
Punishment without Full Proof	47	(2)
Carolina to Theresiana	49	(1)
The New Law of Proof in France	50	(5)
Why Poena Extraordinaria?	55	(6)
4 The Abolition of Judicial Torture	61	(12)
The Abolition Legislation	61	(3)
The Abolition Legend	64	(9)
2 England The Century of Torture 1540-1640
5 The Torture-Free Law of Proof	73	(8)
Peine Forte et Dure	74	(3)
The Jury Standard of Proof	77	(2)
Public Prosecution under the Tudors	79	(2)
6 The Torture Warrants 1540-1640	81	(48)
The Gerard Warrant	82	(1)
Venue	83	(1)
Modes of Torture	84	(1)
Commissioners to Torture	85	(2)
Preconditions for Torture	87	(1)
The Purposes of Torture	88	(3)
The Table of Warrants	91	(38)
7 The Theory of Torture	129	(12)
The Prerogative?	129	(2)
The Reception?	131	(3)
The End of Torture	134	(7)
Abbreviations	141	(4)
Notes	145	(70)
Index	215