Criminal sentencing in Antebellum America: a North-South comparison

Abstract

Historiker sehen in der Regel einen sehr engen Zusammenhang zwischen einer effizienten und voraussagbaren Justiz und der Entwicklung des Industriestaats, insbesondere der Verstädterung. Der vorliegende Beitrag vergleicht die Rechtsprechung von Indiana (ein industrialisierter und verstädteter Nordstaat) mit Georgia (ein agrikultureller Südstaat) in der Zeit von 1830 bis 1860 (Antebellum), um den behaupteten Zusammenhang näher zu prüfen. In der Rechtsprechung zeigen sich erhebliche Unterschiede; in beiden Staaten entwickelt sich jedoch das 'plea bargaining' in vergleichbarer Form. Die Ausführungen zeigen insgesamt, daß der anfänglich behauptete Zusammenhang in dieser Form nicht aufrechtzuerhalten ist. (pmb)

'Scholars often view the 19th-century emphasis on efficient and predictable justice as synonymous with the rise of the commercial-industrial state, and especially with urbanizing areas. An examination of the sentences assigned to white defendants convicted of crimes in two states of the antebellum United States casts doubt on this interpretation. Indiana was a northern, urbanizing, commercial-industrial state; Georgia was southern, rural, and agricultural. Both states operated with similar legal systems and criminal codes, although Georgia assigned sentencing authority to the judge and Indiana to the jury. A comparative analysis of sentences in the two states reveals: (1) Georgia sentences fell into a more narrow and predictable (hence 'bureaucratic') range than did Indiana sentences; (2) Indiana juries displayed no predictability in sentencing; and (3) both states developed 'plea bargaining', despite the wide discrepancy in sentencing patterns. This latter finding contradicts the traditional view that plea bargains were a late-19th century innovation.' (author's abstract)