Acid Attacks in Britain, 1760-1975

This Palgrave Pivot ** examines the history of the largely urban offence once known as vitriol throwing because the substance most commonly used was strong sulphuric acid, oil of vitriol. A relatively rare form of assault, it was motivated largely by revenge or jealousy and, because it was specifically designed to blind and mutilate, commonly targeted the victim's face. The incidence of what was thus widely acknowledged to be an exceptionally cruel crime plateaued in the period 18501930 amid a sometimes surprisingly lenient legal response, before declining as a result of post-war social changes. In examining the factors that influenced both the crime and its punishment, the book makes an important contribution to criminal justice history by illuminating the role of gender, law and emotion from the perspective of both victim and perpetrator.

Provides the first ever national study of British acid attacks in an historical perspective Makes a unique contribution to the history of assault, which is relatively little studied by criminal justice historians Examines the history of crime from the viewpoint of both the victim and the perpetrator, using first-person accounts

Autorentext

Katherine D. Watson is Reader in History at Oxford Brookes University, UK. Her research interests focus on topics where medicine, crime and the law intersect, particularly in Britain since the seventeenth century. She is the author of Medicine and Justice: Medico-Legal Practice in England and Wales, 1700-1914 (2020).

Klappentext

This Palgrave Pivot examines the history of the largely urban offence once known as vitriol throwing because the substance most commonly used was strong sulphuric acid, oil of vitriol. A relatively rare form of assault, it was motivated largely by revenge or jealousy and, because it was specifically designed to blind and mutilate, commonly targeted the victim's face. The incidence of what was thus widely acknowledged to be an exceptionally cruel crime plateaued in the period 1850-1930 amid a sometimes surprisingly lenient legal response, before declining as a result of post-war social changes. In examining the factors that influenced both the crime and its punishment, the book makes an important contribution to criminal justice history by illuminating the role of gender, law and emotion from the perspective of both victim and perpetrator.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Facts and Figures.- 3. Motives and Contexts.- 4. Law and Justice.- 5. Conclusion