Fairly interesting paper.
By the late Middle Ages, courts were condemning to death between 0.5 and 1.0% of all men of each generation, with perhaps just as many offenders dying at the scene of the crime or in prison while awaiting trial. Meanwhile, the homicide rate plummeted from the 14th century to the 20th.
The pool of violent men dried up until most murders occurred under conditions of jealousy, intoxication, or extreme stress. The decline in personal violence is usually attributed to harsher punishment and the longer-term effects of cultural conditioning. It may also be, however, that this new cultural environment selected against propensities for violence.
Lessons for Africa? @Nilotic , @AbdiFreedom always says we should just execute criminals, maybe he was onto something. Singapore hands out the death penalty like nacnac, seems to work well.
By the late Middle Ages, courts were condemning to death between 0.5 and 1.0% of all men of each generation, with perhaps just as many offenders dying at the scene of the crime or in prison while awaiting trial. Meanwhile, the homicide rate plummeted from the 14th century to the 20th.
The pool of violent men dried up until most murders occurred under conditions of jealousy, intoxication, or extreme stress. The decline in personal violence is usually attributed to harsher punishment and the longer-term effects of cultural conditioning. It may also be, however, that this new cultural environment selected against propensities for violence.
Lessons for Africa? @Nilotic , @AbdiFreedom always says we should just execute criminals, maybe he was onto something. Singapore hands out the death penalty like nacnac, seems to work well.
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