Two things I found the most interesting were the changing views and there fore punishments for both rape and murder.
For rape, it was once not seen as a big deal, like in many other places, likely with women being blamed more than the men that raped them. Now in the UK convicted rapists can get life in prison. I think this is great and it shows the public that rape is a serious crime that will not go unpunished or unnoticed.
For murder, there has been no death penalty since 1998 with the Human Rights Act. The famous case of the 1950's serial killer on the loose made law makers rethink this policy. The "killer" was caught, tried for murder, and put to death, however the murders continued, meaning of course that they convicted and killed the wrong person. When the "real" killer was finally found there was big debate on whether or not to continue capital punishment and soon thereafter it was and is still no longer used in the UK.
Something I found very interesting about UK legal system comparing to the US's is how there is no written constitution. The closest that comes to this is the Human Rights Act, however even that is debatable. This is one of the biggest differences between UK and US law, with the US referencing its written Constitution for nearly all rights and laws, and the UK not even having anything in official writing.
This lecture ties into my major of Sociology with the example of rape cases. I have learned a lot about women's rights and gender roles and power struggles between the sexes in my classes. As women in this new age are treated more like equals, crimes like rape that had little to no punishment years ago (when women were seen as inferior) are now taken very seriously. It just represents how the view of women and men and the powers and hierarchies between them have been changing over the years and will continue to change.
I also found that the biggest difference was the fact that the United Kingdom did not have a written constitution! Even though the United States' constitution is debatable to this day, it is the basis for all actions that are carried out in the legal system. It's interesting to know that many legal factors can be changed at any time and us (the United States) always have a written document to abide by.
ReplyDeleteI was able to have an internship with a small law firm that handled both criminal and civil cases which was very interesting and exposed me to alot of the legal system heard in London. The biggest thing that amazed me is that people arrested are not recommended to stay silent because the judge and the jury they have an adverse inference in the silence of a person. This goes back to not being able to plead the 5th and remain silent because the U.K. does not have a constitution. I understand to a certain extent why, but still found the situation quite unsettling. It feel as thought the people arrested here have the odds stacked against them even more than in the states.
ReplyDeleteI agree Patty. I found it very odd that what you do not say when you are arrested may be held against you. I've never been arrested but I assume it was be a pretty awkward predicament to be placed into and also be expected to spill your guts. I appreciate the American system a lot more because you atleast know what you're up against.
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