Women's Criminality

Paper Summary:

Women have been known to commit crimes for hundreds of years. This paper looks at the crimes women committed in the late 1700s and early 1800s, especially during the rise of the Eastern State Penitentiary and Auburn Prison, and society's reaction to their crimes and reform.

From the Paper:

"Women during this time were considered to be their husband's property, and basically did not have any rights. Her husband was allowed to punish her; however, the law dictated the severity of the punishment. "A stick could be used to whip her, but it could not be larger than the thickness of a finger, while there was no limit to the length of the stick. No man was permitted to kill or permanently cripple her (everettarea.org/tales/v06/v06c04.htm)."
This treatment caused some wives to live their husbands and disappear, prompting the husband to "place an advertisement or notice in the local newspaper notifying the public of his wife leaving his bed and board and that a person or persons harboring her would be liable for prosecution (everettarea.org/tales/v06/v06c04.htm)." The husband in some instances would offer a reward for the return of his wife."

More papers on Women's Criminality:

• Term Paper # 125494 : "Women and the Criminal Justice System"
• Analytical Essay # 58668 : "Women in the Criminal Justice System"
• Term Paper # 149590 : "Women Inmates"
• Research Paper # 96351 : "Women in Prison"

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