Uncertain justice : Canadian women and capital punishment 1754-1953 /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Greenwood, F. Murray (Frank Murray), 1935-
Imprint:Toronto, Ont. : Dundurn Press, [2000]
Description:1 online resource
Language:English
Subject:
Format: E-Resource Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11156222
Hidden Bibliographic Details
Varying Form of Title:Canadian women and capital punishment 1754-1953
Other authors / contributors:Boissery, Beverley, 1939-
ISBN:1550023446
9781550023442
1417598239
9781417598236
9781459717817
1459717813
1282814710
9781282814714
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Print version record.
Summary:In 1754, Eleanor Powers was hung for a murder committed during a botched robbery. She was the first woman condemned to die in Canada, but would not be the last. In Uncertain Justice, Beverley Boissery and Murray Greenwood portray a cast of women characters almost as often wronged by the law as they have wronged society. Starting with the Powers trial and continuing to the not-too-distant past, the authors expose the patriarchal values that lie at the core of criminal law, and the class and gender biases that permeate its procedures and applications. The writing style is similar to that of a popular mystery: "Harriet Henry lay dead. Horribly and indubitably. Her body sprawled against the bed, the head twisted at a grotesque angle. Foam engulfed the grinning mouth." Scholarly analysis combines with the narrative to make Uncertain Justice a fascinating and engaging read. There is a wealth of information about the emerging and evolving legal system and profession, the state of forensic science, the roles of juries and the political turmoil and growing resistance to a purely class-based aristocratic form of government.
Other form:Print version: Greenwood, F. Murray (Frank Murray), 1935- Uncertain justice. Toronto, Ont. : Dundurn Press, [2000]