Death Of The 19th Century - 947 Words

Pentridge Prison, built in the 1850 in the north of Melbourne, housed Victoria’s most infamous criminals, which included; Russell Street Bomber Craig Minogue, 1920’s gangster Squizzy Taylor, Hoddle Street gunman Julian Knight and Mark ‘Chopper’ Reid. Pentridge Prisons history emphasizes the changes in crime, offending and punishment over its period of operation. By the end of the 20th century, Australia was less violent in comparison to the end of the 18th and 19th centuries. Crimes that have reoccurred during this period include, homicides, assault, theft, burglary, rape, kidnapping and drunkenness in public. Graycar (2001) states that â€Å"in the early 20th century, drunkenness was seen as a crime itself and by the end, it was†¦show more content†¦Under s4 of the Abolition of the Death Penalty (1973) it was stated that â€Å"[a] person is not liable to the punishment of death for any offence.’’ The last execution at Pentridge Prison was the hanging on Ronald Ryan in 1967, ‘’the accompanying public protest was enough to ensure that it was the last execution in Australia’s history.’’ (Finnanne 2008). Since the abolition of the Death Penalty, criminals who have committed crimes such as murder were no longer sentenced to the death penalty instead; life imprisonment became the maximum punishment. During 1850 when Pentridge Prison was first opened, hard labour was introduced, prisoners had to provide labour for the construction of Sydney Road. Moreland History (2014) stated â€Å"there was a lot of bluestone in the area so the prisoners could do ‘hard labour’ by breaking up the stone and working on the unmade road.’’ During this time prisoners at Pentridge Prison slept, ate and worked in chains, they were forced to sleep on wooden benches and ate outside standing in all types of weather, for those who broke the rules or refused to work were punished by wearing heavy irons or given solitary confinement on bread and water. Moreland History (2008) further claims ‘’hard labour was introduced in the 19th century to teach prisoners the value of hard work in attempt to deter others from committing a crime.’’ During the 19th century,