Thursday, October 30, 2008

#30

What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishmentd were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishmentd were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?


The courts during Dickens' day were like a smaller version of our present court. People on trial stood on opposite sides. The prisoners had to wait weeks for a trial after imprisonment and conditions were horrible. The kind of punishments that were meted out were that prisoners would be whipped, forced to do rough labor, put in straight jackets, or cut off from food and socializing. The prisons were like our modern prisons, that's how we got the idea of separate cells and hard work during the day. Modern day prisons are separate cells and silence during the mornings.

--Joan Li

Anonymous said...

Janice Tran

Question:
What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishments were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?

Answer:
In Dickens' day, the 1800's, I think courts were unfair and brutal. They always made harsh choices unfairly. Prisoners were treated unfairly. People who were accused were put in prison before trial. It was very harsh also. Ex: In 1846, four boys were charged for theft and were given 1 month imprisonment. At the end they were WHIPPED with a rod. Prisoners were occupied by being forced the pulling to pieces of old tarry ropes for hours causing their hands to be sore. People were put on treadmills (large hamster wheel like) and it had no purpose. It was torture. Straight jackets were things people were put into and strapped to the wall for hours just standing there. It was torture and used on boys. If a child misbehaved they were put on a diet of only bread and water. Solitary confinement is another thing where they get extra punishment and sometimes they were put in the dark with nothing. Prisons were horrible. Today, I guess they are better. Its secure and people just don't get beatings for nothing like in the old days. Prisons provide a better meal. People would be in cells with a bunch of other people. In prisons you can make calls with the payphone. And you get a fair trial with the jury to see if you get convicted or not.

(Source: http://www.ancestryaid.co.uk/boards/genealogy-coffee-room/1137-juvenile-crime-1800s.html)

xoemily68 said...

Emily Pan


What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishmentd were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?

Answer: Law courts like in Dickens'day were like a big huge courts filled with many people. It is almost like an auditorium becucause it had a upper deck. The important people sits at at the bottom of the upper deck. They sit on chairs and each of them would have a desk. Prisoners were treated horrible. Prisoners who weren't killed often became slaves
or faced penal transportations like mining, road construction, building works, or assign to an unpaid work. People in debt were sent into debtor's prisons. They had to pay until they had enough money to pay their jailers for an exhange for a limited freedom.The prisons use to look like a long hall which has many doors at both side. Today is looks like a building holding more than one hall. It includes a gym or exercise yard, a healthcare room, a segregation unit, where the jailers seapate dangerous prisoner from other people or sometimes use for punishment, and many more.

Andrew Morel's Media Blog said...

What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishmentd were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?
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The courts during Dickens' day were very different from our. The courts were much smaller and they were also unfair and cruel. In the trial the the people would stand on opposing sides. There were many types of punishments. Such were being made to do hard tiresome labor work, being seperated from society, being beaten and being held back by a confining jacket. They were also put in the dark by themselves. Many children were only allowed to eat bread and water. The prisons in Dickens' time(1800's) were much less modern but had the general same concept of todays prisons. The only difference was that people did not share cells, but instead they lived in the dark alone! Todays prisons have much better meals and offer school and libraries for the interested prisoners. Also in todays prison people don't get whipped nor beaten if they don't act up. Also in today's prisons your allowed one phone call a day and you are allowed to get a bail. So todays prisons were better than the ones in the 1800's, but they are still no luxury!


- Ian Morel (=

Andrew Morel's Media Blog said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Eric Mei said...

What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishments were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?


When it was the Dickens' day, the courts are smaller and everything they do in the court is unfair. People can be put to jail without using legal documents of proving them guilty. The punishments for prisoners were that they would get beaten, whipped, force to do work, not allowed to talk and they have to keep they mouths shut. Nowadays they do not get whipped or beaten. They can talk as much as they want. The prisons are more high tech than the ones in Dickens' days. They have a yard were people can play, a medical room where people who needs legal drugs or medicine. They are also separated into groups depending on how bad is their crime.

Joey Wu said...

~~~JOEY WU~~~

What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishmentd were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?

The courts during Dickens' day were very different. The courts were much smaller and they were also unfair and cruel. People can be put to jail without using legal documents of proving them guilty. So many innocent people were in jail for being accused of doing crime. People had to pay until they had enough money to pay their jailers for freedom. Some people were unfortunately unlucky to get out because of the strong payment. The prisons looked similar to the prisons today. There is a long hallway with cells going back and forth. People were classified by groups depending on how bad they are. Today is a lot diffeent than before. Not much has change but as technology grows better, understandings of who is guilty or not has been improved. We now have DNA which is one important thing to find reliable evidence.

Helen Huang (; said...

The courts during Dickens' day were different from our courts. The courts back then were much more cruel and unfair. Sometimes people didn't even get trials. The types of punishment varied. Punishments such as being forced to do labor, being separated from others, getting beat up and sometimes they had to put on a straight jacket. Children were only able to eat bread and drink water. They were starving there. The prisons we have now, have better food, and they treat people better. The prisons today offer school and they don't get beaten when they aren't doing anything bad. When you go to jail today, you are able to talk to your loved ones, if they come visit you.

Anonymous said...

Paige Chen

What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishments were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?



Long ago, the courts in Dickens' days were much smaller. They were also unfair and cruel. The victim could have been accused and hurt without any evidence or proof. The proof would be the words of another person. Before even going to trial they would be sent to jail, whipped, forced to perform labor and taken away from the society. Some were even murdered or sent off as slaves. Now a days, everything in court is filed and documented with evidence. Jails are like cells and beatings aren't necessary unless you misbehave. You get meals everyday and they are safe.

Yo its Darwin! said...

Darwin Romulus

What were law courts like in Dicken's day? The law courts in Charles Dickens life were very alike. There were people that sat on both sides of the court room just like today. How were prisoners treated? Prisoners waited weeks for a trial date while suffering under harsh conditions. I don't no how long they make you wait for a trial now in days, but I atleast know that they still give you a trial date just as they did in Dickens' day. What sorts of punishments were meted out? The kind of punishments that were meted out to prisoners was forced to do rough labor, food supplies and interacting with others was cut off, and other horrible things. What are they like today? Prisons today give you some recess time, but most of the time your in your cell by yourself.

jennifer93 said...

During the 19-century courts looked like a small versions of today’s courts. When on trial the people would stand opposite of each other. The prisoners who were on trials had to wait long periods of time to get the verdict. When convicted these prisons were horrible not only were they unsanitary the conditions were horrible and nasty. Some punishments, the prisoners would be whipped, forced to work long periods of time, and/or starvation. The prisons from Dickens time to today’s prisons basically have the same concept separate cells, bathroom in each cell, lunchroom, working outside and etc. But in today’s prisons, inmates have more freedom to walk around, and communicate like visiting, writing letters or talking on the phone.

arielzhang. said...

Ariel Zhang

During Dicken's days, law courts were way more different then it is today, back then I think that it was more unfair, cruel, harsh and strict. Ones that were in trial stood on opposite sides. There were many varieties of punishments examples are living in solitary, being abused/beaten, didn't get the right amount of food each day. In Dicken's days, prisons were dangerous and harsh. Each prisoner would get their own cell and they would be kept from socializing or communicating with others. Today, being a prisoner is much easier then it was before. Prisoners share cells therefore they get the chance to communicate with others. It would be more safe, there are less beatings, they get the opportunity to make phone calls.coil

Raymond Liang said...

Raymond Liangg

What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishmentd were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?

In the old days, courts weren't as large as today. The conditions were very horrible. Prisoners were forced to do labor. Some prisoners had to wait long periods of time for their trial. Prisons were horrible. They don't provide enough food for the prisoners. Prisoners get whipped and beaten. Prisoners today don't get beaten or whipped. They have more rights. They are allowed education and a phone call to anybody they wish.

Anonymous said...

The courts in Charles Dickens days were more harsh and cruel. they were much smaller and many of the prisoners werent given a fair trial. Prisoners werent taken care of before their trail. Some punishments that prisoners went were foreced labor,being beat, and sometimes just being starved to death. Todays prisons are much better maintained and more prisoners are given fair trials. Also due to habeus corpus more prisoners are being protected and are actually able to make it to there trial.
JOEL CHAVARRIA E1PG04 PD7

Tiffany said...

What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishmentd were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?

Courts in Dickes' day were much smaller than the courts we have today. During trial people stood on opposite sides, and were treated unfairly. Prisoners were treated terribly, for example they were put to hard work, they waited a long time before being presented to the courts and were excluded from the outside world. Prisons today have better food given to the prisoners, bigger courts, and the prisoners are treated much better than in Dickens' day!

Nargiza said...

What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishmentd were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?

The courts during Dicken's day were very harsh. Accused were put to jail even before their trials and treated with bad conditions. There was lack of food, and socializing. People also got beaten, and sometimes to death.
Today, prisons are not that harsh. It's still prison, but people don't get beaten and starved to death. Everyone has to work in prison and there is lack of socializing too.

Anna said...

ANNA ZHANG
the courts during the dickens' day were very different from today. they were smaller, and the positions of where the people were standing was different. the prisoners and suspects had to wait for a long time just for a trial. people were treated unfairly, and were judged before the trial took place. the prisons were like prisons we have today. prisons today have times where your loved ones could come visit you. you would have recess time, and much better food. you would also have a cell for yourself at times, depending on your crime.

victor said...

Question: What were law courts like in Dickens' day? How were prisoners treated? What sorts of punishment were meted out? What were the prisons like? What are they like today?

In Dickens's day law courts were not the same as present day. People were place on opposite sides of the courts and were being judged. These courts are unfair and were mostly different types of punishment even for the same crime. The kinds of punishment were made into severe case even if it is as severe as it suppose to be. The prisoners were treated badly, they were beat once they entered the prisons. Punishments towards the prisoners can range from slave working to beating to death. Prisoners today are treated a little better than the Dicken's day prisons. Today prison has cells separating prisoners and are forced them into silence.

emily♥shines said...

During the 17th century, convicting people of crimes and being guilty were not accurate. People were thrown into jail simply by belief and light evidence without much judgement. People were more convincable and what people believed was what mostly drove them to their actions. Also, nobody bothered to organize or improvement the acts of imprisonment. People recieved brutal and unfair punishments just by people who were either mean, unjust, lazy, cruel, or stupid and swayed by anything.