Gregory J Durston

As the author notes, ‘The early-modern European witch-hunts were neither orchestrated massacres nor spontaneous pogroms. Alleged witches were not rounded up at night and summarily killed extra-judicially or lynched as the victims of mob justice. They were executed after trial and conviction with full legal process’. In this concise but highly-informed account of the persecution of witches Gregory Durston demonstrates what a largely ordered process was the singling-out or hunting-down of perceived offenders. How a mix of superstition, fear, belief and ready explanations for ailments, misfortune or disasters caused law, politics and religion to indulge in criminalisation and the appearance of justice. Bearing echoes of modern-day ‘othering’ and marginalisation of outsiders he shows how witchcraft became akin to treason (with its special rules), how evidentially speaking storms, sickness or coincidence might be attributed to conjuring, magic, curses and spells. All this reinforced by examples and detailed references to the law and practice through which a desired outcome was achieved. In another resonance with modern times, the author shows how decisions were often diverted into the hands of witch-hunters, witch-finders (including self-appointed Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins), witch-prickers and other experts as well as the quaintly titled ‘cunning-folk’ consulted by prosecutors and ‘victims’. Crimen Exceptum (crimes apart). A straightforward and authoritative guide. Shows the rise and fall of prosecutions. Backed by a wealth of learning and research. Extract ‘A range of specialist tests developed to establish that a suspect truly was a witch. These included “swimming”, “pricking” … identifying a witch’s teat, requiring her to recite the Lord’s Prayer or other well-known passage of scripture … and any positive results obtained from the various techniques, such as scratching a suspect or boiling a victim’s urine … to break a spell or to identify who had cast it.’

The English Witch Prosecution in Context

Crimen Exceptum

Mohsin Zaidi

Since the Financial Crisis of 2008, criminal prosecution has moved to centre-stage as the Financial Conduct Authority’s preferred means of punishing and deterring insider dealing (the illegal practice of trading with access to sensitive non-public information). The Little Book of Insider Dealing looks at all aspects of the ‘insider’ offences established by the Criminal Justice Act 1993, including their history, punishment and rationale, as well as their (slightly uneasy) relationship with the overlapping civil regulatory regime that also governs such financial misconduct. Topics covered also include: detection, compliance, surveillance, suspicion, reporting obligations, enforcement and (civil and criminal) penalties and warnings, plus there is a strong focus on evidential aspects and a wealth of examples from real life cases. Suitable for beginners and practitioners alike. The first concise treatment and highly topical. A gem that deals with wide scale problems and complexities identified by an article in The Times (see Chapter 1).

The Little Book of Insider Dealing

In this welcome addition to his Crime History Series, Gregory Durston points to the lack of design and short-term expediency that typified Tudor law and order. But he also detects an emergent criminal justice system amidst royal patronage, protection, and the influence of wealthy magnates. Students of English history will have heard how benefit of clergy and the ‘neck verse’ might avoid a hanging, but what of other stratagems such as down-valuing stolen goods, cruentation, chance medley, pious perjury or John at Death (a non-existent culprit blamed by the accused and treated by juries as real); all devices used to mitigate the all-pervading death-for-felony rule. Together with other artifices deployed by courts to circumvent black-letter law the author also describes how poor, marginalised and illiterate citizens were those most likely to suffer unfairness, injustice and draconian punishment. He also describes the political intrigue and widescale corruption that were symptomatic of the era, alongside such diverse aspects as forfeiture of property, evidential ploys, the rise of the highwayman, religious persecution, witchcraft and infanticide crazes. At a time of shifting allegiances?—?and as Crown, church, judges, magistrates and officials wrestled over jurisdiction, central or local control, ‘ungodly customs’, laws of convenience or malleable definitions?—?never perhaps were facts or law so expertly engineered to justify or defend often curious outcomes. Part of Durston’s Crime History Series. Covers the entire Tudor era. Based on first-hand historical research. Fully referenced to hundreds of sources.

Crime, Law, and Order in Tudor England

Jacks, Knaves and Vagabonds

A new work on Crime and Punishment in East Anglia (and elsewhere) during the eighteenth century. It was a time of highwaymen, footpads and desperate petty offenders, draconian penalties, extremes of wealth and poverty, corruption and rough and emerging forms of justice. The contents include justices of the peace, policing, crimes, courts and judges as well as such matters as summary trial and disposal, jury trial, execution (and reprieve), a variety of offences including murder (and other homicides), violence and sexual offences, smuggling, poaching, property crimes, riots and disturbances. The book also looks at the various hierarchies that existed whether social, legal, judicial, religious, military or otherwise so as to exert a variety of social controls at a time of relative lawlessness. A fascinating and statistically absorbing account of crimes, responses and penal outcomes of the era. Neither a micro-history in the context of a parish, hundred, or small town nor national account, but a more unusual criminal justice history of a major English region with its own correlation with London and the rest of England in addition to its local differences and ‘quirks’.

Crime and Justice in Eighteenth-Century East Anglia

Fields, Fens and Felonies

Ailsa McKeon

Market manipulation comes in many forms. For a wrong that some say started life with groups of men dressed in Bourbon uniforms spreading false information in cod French accents, the speed of change has accelerated dramatically in the modern era, via the Internet, novel forms of electronic communication, ultra-fast computer-generated trading, new types of financial instruments, and increased globalisation. This means that opportunities for carrying-out new forms of manipulation now exist on an exponential scale. Looks at the mechanisms, criminal and civil, to confront market manipulation, its enforcement regimes, legal and evidential rules and potential loopholes. Shows how every individual involved in market transactions can fall foul of the law if they do not ensure integrity in their dealings. The ‘tricks’ used by those seeking to benefit from this special category of fraud and the relationship of dedicated provisions to the general law is outlined, with key statutory provisions set out in an appendix. A valuable accompaniment to The Little Book of Insider Dealing (Waterside Press, 2018). An invaluable pocket guide and law primer. An essential guide for investors. With practical examples and decided cases. An up-to-date treatment of a fast-moving topic. Describes both criminal and regulatory regimes. Contents include Forms of Market Manipulation; Suspicion, Identification, Detection and Investigation; Obligations and Enforcement; Criminal Offences, Defences and Punishment; Regulatory Provisions and Penalties; Evidence; Acronyms; Select Bibliography; Key Statutory Provisions and Index.

Gregory J Durston

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