Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty was very common for crimes such as theft, murder, stealing sheep, chopping down trees in Downing Street and skipping hot wires. But in 1841, capital punishment was only the penalty for murder or treason. This changed due to many people thinking that the punishment was too harsh and the juries did not convict criminals of crimes as they thought it was not an appropriate punishment. It was felt that being killed for stealing a loaf of bread was too harsh of a punishment. It was thought that the punishment should match the crime, not outweigh it.
The biggest punishment was transportation, if someone was convicted of a crime, the person would be sent to jail until there was a sufficient number of prisoners for the ‘voyage’, when there was, they would load up a boat full of prisoners and their voyage would begin, the journey would take about 4 months and the conditions were very poor and cramped. Once they arrived to their destination, they were assigned to a family and given work to match their crime. The destination they were taken to Australia as English settlers had captured it and was using it as a detention centre for criminals. Each criminal was set a time of which they had to be there for and good behaviour was rewarded an early ticket back to England. Transportation was the one punishment that made crime rate fall. Now that it was introduced, the juries seemed less reluctant to convict more people and now people had seen that the jurors were willing to convict so many people; they decided to buck their act up. Sending criminals to Australia was a successful method of punishment and many convicts who served their punishment would continue to stay in Australia because they became useful to the calm, quiet and peaceful life there.
Prisons in the 19th century were in very poor conditions; the prisons had been hugely neglected. There was no separation between men, children and women. Prisons were crawling with diseases and there was no thought for sanitation conditions; after all, they were just criminals. This was the view of many people back then. Prisoners were charged for food, drink and the privilege of a bed. The prisoners were often chained to the walls in order for them not to escape. In 1869, the ‘silent system’ was introduced, this made prisoners do hard and pointless labour and it was done to keep them busy. The food given was boring and repetitive. This was how prison life was remained until the turn of the century.
Children were no exception when it came to crime. The first prison for juvenile delinquents was set up in 1839 but many children were still being sent to the same prison as many of the adults. Age was never considered when convicting a child, children as young as 10 years old was being hung or transported. Many people were shocked when it came to a hearing of a child; child crime eventually became so bad that the government set up a ‘committee for the investigating metropolis’. Children began to be treated differently under the ‘juvenile offence act 1847’ it said that anyone under the age of 16 were to be trailed at a new kind of court. The biggest change in child crime was reformatory schools where they were sent there for a long period of time to drag the children away from bad habits. Women’s crimes were treated very harshly and they were not lenient to the fact that they were women. The first women’s prison opened in 1853. In 1861, it was made illegal for women to have abortions.
In the early 19th century, the job of policemen was to deter crime not solve it, but nearing the end of the 19th century, it became more preventing and solving. Policing gradually became better and more sophisticated and lead to what it is today.
Question 2.
Why did the Whitechapel murders cause so much attention in 1888?
The Whitechapel murders attracted a lot of attention in 1888; there are many factors as to why there was so much attention to the Whitechapel murders. The Whitechapel murders were no ordinary murders due to the nature of the murders and the questions that still lies with us today: “Who was Jack the Ripper?” All of the victims were prostitutes, and it is unclear how many people jack the ripper has murdered, it is commonly said that he had 5 victims, but it is alleged that there were many more. Although he was no the first serial killer the world had come across, he still remains popular, he had a great deal of press coverage. The press also were responsible for many myths and lies that were created.
The victims believed to be killed by Jack the Ripper in order of death was: Mary Ann Nichols; Annie Chapman; Elizabeth Stride; Catharine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. They were all murdered between late August and early November 1888. All five victims were prostitutes and there was no evidence that linked any of the victims to each other. Mary Ann Nichols was the first victim of the ripper murders; she was 42 years of ages when she died. She was married but separated with her husband and had 5 children. She was found murdered on 31st August 1888, she had five teeth missing, and a slight graze on the tongue. She had a bruise on her jaw, which could have been caused by a punch from a fist. There were many incisions along her neck, which severed all tissues down the vertebrae. She was also found with a very deep wound around the lower part of her abdomen with several incisions running across the abdomen. It is suspected that the killer used a knife to perform these actions. Murdered on 8th September 1888, Annie Chapman was the second known victim of Jack the Ripper; she was 45 years of age when she died. She also was married but separated and had 3 children. Her body was terribly mutilated; her throat was dissevered deeply as the first victim had been. The abdomen was laid open and the intestines, placed on the shoulder of the body. The bladder, pelvis and uterus had also been entirely removed. The killer was probably an expert or someone with a great knowledge of anatomical examinations. Elizabeth Stride was 45 years old when murdered, she claimed that her husband and children died when a ship collided and killed many people. But her husband actually died a few years after of heart disease. She was murdered on 30th September 1888; she too had incisions in the neck and throat. She suffered from a haemorrhage cause by severance of the artery. The ripper’s fourth victim was Catherine Eddowes; she was also murdered on the same day as Elizabeth Stride. She was never married but had 3 children; she was 43 years of ages at death. When found, her face was totally mutilated. Her throat and neck was severed and was cut open from the neck to the groin. The last known victim of the ripper was Mary Jane Kelly; she was approximately 25 years old when she died. Little is known about her, only information given by people she knew. The surface of her abdomen and thighs were removed, many parts of her body were removed and placed next to her and face was totally mutilated. The natures of these murders were very gruesome and unpleasant. The murderer wasn’t after sex, or after money, he just wanted to kill these women in the most gruesome way. This then lead to ideas that the serial murders were all a conspiracy to get rid of the prostitutes on the street.
During these murders, the police received many letters claiming to be written by the serial murderer. The majority of the letters received were regarded as being fraudulent written by newspaper people to try start stories or people who was trying to provoke even more commotion. Most people believe that the letters sent were all a ruse to get the police frightened but others believe that a select few are genuinely from the murderer himself. On one occasion, the police force received a letter and also part of a kidney supposedly taken from one of the ripper’s victims.
The newspaper followed the activities of the ripper; this issue had a lot of press coverage and the results of the actions and inquiries taken by the police were also reported. People were now scared of leaving their house in occurrence that they may encounter the ripper, this was a result of the lies made up in the newspapers about the ripper. The newspapers were exploiting this murderer to make sells. It was the first real case of a serial killer gaining popular international press coverage and interest. The natures of these murders were also hyped up in the newspapers, with in depth descriptions and sketches of the bodies. Due to the fact that no one had been caught and blamed for the murders, the newspapers came up with many theories as to who the murderer really was. The newspapers hyped up the ripper and this interested many members of the public.
All the murders were committed close by each other. The east end was a very dangerous place to live during 1888; most of the lower class was living there. Mainly English and Jews were living in the East End. Many Jews fled to the east end as the rents were cheap and little questions were asked. The Jewish population was steadily rising. The people already living around the Whitechapel district at first became very suspicious of these newcomers. There was an estimation of 1200 prostitutes working in Whitechapel and many more who took on clients from time to time to support their earnings. There were more than 200 lodging houses with poor conditions, many children who were born there, didn’t see pass the age of 5. Altogether, there were approximately 9000 people living in the East End.
The killer was never caught; this was because the police force had just recently been set up and the policemen were amateurs, many without experience. They did not know the area as well as many of the local people so they did not know any of the local criminals in the area. In one case, they dismissed the evidence and statement given by one of the witnesses as the doctors time of death did not fit in with the information the witness had given. There has been rumour that many people saw the murders but did not step forward to present themselves or give any evidence.
There are many reasons as to why the Whitechapel murders caused so much attention in 1888, firstly, the wounds inflicted onto the rippers victims and the nature that they was killed. This intrigued the public as to why someone would do such a thing without an ulterior motive. The letters sent to the police also made people question who they could and could not trust. The language used in the newspapers to describe the ripper the way he was also attracted many people and the hype cause over the serial murderer. And finally, each murder was all close by and all the victims were prostitutes.
Why were the police unable to catch Jack the ripper?
Although the Whitechapel murders were over a century ago, the question still lies about whom the killer really was. Experts all have their own interpretation as to who committed these murders and what motive and reason they had to do so. Unfortunately, these murders came at a time when finger printing and forensic science did not exist and the only way to prove that some had committed murder, was to catch them in the act or get them to confess.
The Whitechapel investigations were carried out by two police forces, the metropolitan police, and London also had their own police force. It was thought that both forces worked together well and got along but there is evidence that they did not get along very well. The ripper manipulated that fact that both police forces were in competition with each other. There were very little clues as to who the ripper was, he was very smart in making sure there were no leads for the police to follow up. All descriptions given by witnesses were very assorted as to how they saw him and what he looked like. He struck at random times and there was no connection recognized between him and his victim. The police and CID was still much in their early development, they either had little or no experience with serial killers. The press played a very big role in why the police never caught the murderer, they made up hoax letters claiming to be from the ripper and published them in their papers and also sent some of the letters to the police. There was a lot of time wasted checking the authenticity of the letters received and chasing them up to find false leads. There were hundreds of hoax letters sent and the police could not tell the difference between genuine and mock letters. These false leads and false letters were very time consuming and lead to a lot of work, with so little officers, so much time was taken up. This lead to the majority of officers to help with the false letters and hoax’s and there was few left to help with other aspects of the case.
The killer was obviously a professional and calm under pressure, as he was able to murder his victims in the middle of the street without aspect of fear. He did not attract attention, making very little noise when murdering his victims. There were more police patrols on the street during the time of the killing and despite this, the murderer was still able to kill his victims without being seen. After murdering his victims, he was able to stay very calm whilst mutilating and removing organs from his victims bodies. The killer was very cunning and clever as he played around with the two competing police forces. He managed to play the two forces against each other. Each force had set boundaries, which the other force was not to cross whilst in uniform.
The handling of evidence was a downfall in the investigation to catch the ripper. As the police were amateurs, they did not know how to handle the evidence in a sensible and safe manner. At the time, the police did not know the importance of all the clues; many clues were lost or mistreated.
The witnesses gave very different accounts as to what the ripper looked like. There were some similar features but also very diverse features. They all varied in aged from mid twenties, to late thirties and they varied in height, some claming that he was short and some claiming that he was tall. This confused the police, as it was a very broad description, as they could not hunt for one type of person in particular. He was described as having a dark complexion but others described him as having a blotched face. Some descriptions described him as having a moustache and looked Jewish. The killings took place when it was very dark so it was hard for the witnesses to make out the features of the killer.
Because the police forces were very inexperienced, they had no idea how to track down the murderer, it had never been done before and they had no idea where to begin. They did not know which methods were successful and which methods were not. Photographing had just recently been introduced, there was no forensic evidence at the time and the only clues they found were around district and on the deceased bodies. Catching a serial killer is a hard task, and still is today with all the modern sciences and technology we have. Most of the time, the police forces were looking for foreigners in and around the Whitechapel district, as it was believed that the killer lived nearby. The police forces did very little but autopsies and questioning people who could have been there at the time of the crime. The CID department had only been running for 10 years so they had very little experience or knowledge, people were now criticising them for not finding the killer and that they were incompetent. They had very little experience with killers, with no fingerprinting or forensic science, there was very little that the detectives could do, there were many limitations.
The police force were very confused with the evidence given by doctors. Dr Bond disagreed with the other doctors’ verdict that the killer had medical training. Other doctors believed that the killer had some form of training, even simple training like what a butcher would know. It is believed that the killer knew what he was doing and no ordinary man with no form medical knowledge could carry out the killings the way it was carried out. The cuts were very clean and precise; he cut the body in a very professional manner and knew exactly what he was doing. The police were confused and did not know which doctor they should follow. This is an example of what wasted the police’s time with two different accounts to follow up. The police had to go around to every butcher in the Whitechapel district and everyone with medical knowledge to question them. This was very time consuming and also money consuming due to extra police having to work to cover the whole Whitechapel district.
The methods of the killer gave the police an idea that he was very skilled at what he did. He only killed his victims in the night when it was dark so he could not be seen. He was straight to the point and very quick and quiet. He managed to take his victim somewhere with privacy and kill them with stealth. The killer showed no sign of remorse and was seen as a cold-hearted murderer.
The police force was first created to prevent crimes and not solve crimes. They did not know how to solve crimes; they were created on the basis of being there to prevent crime from happening. With a serial killer on the loose, this was all new to them and they and no idea what to do. The police were only experienced in preventing crime and not solving crime, this meant that they did not know what to do and what not to do. When the police found out that there was a killer on the loose, more men were sent out to prevent them but then realised that they should try to solve the murders rather then trying to prevent them.
During the hunt for the killer, the police forces made handbills to give to every house in Whitechapel, this made sure that everyone could try and help with the tracking of the murderer. The handbills did not help; this was because there was not any relevant information given to the people as to how the suspect he looked or a description etc. The people of Whitechapel had no idea of who they were supposed to be keeping an eye out for.
Jack the ripper was never caught, this was because the police force were very amateur and in their infancy. The police force was just developing at the time of the murders. They did not have the scientific knowledge or methods they have today. The killer was very sly and smart. He left very little evidence at the crime scene with no leads for the police to follow up. The police wasted a lot of time chasing up hoax letters made up by the public and the local newspapers. They had very little help from doctors and witnesses as their evidence contradicted each other. The killer was very skilled and quiet; he was very smart in turning the two police forces against each other. Because the two police forces were in competition with each other, they kept things from one another and they did not help one another in the search. With the forensic sciences and modern technology there is today, the ripper would have had a better chance at getting caught. Whitechapel was just unlucky that this serial murderer was in the time period where the police forces were amateur and forensic sciences had not yet been discovered.
