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The civilizing process in London’s Old Bailey

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posted on 2023-06-19, 07:57 authored by Sara Klingenstein, Tim Hitchcock, Simon DeDeo
The jury trial is a critical point where the state and its citizens come together to define the limits of acceptable behavior. Here we present a large-scale quantitative analysis of trial transcripts from the Old Bailey that reveal a major transition in the nature of this defining moment. By coarse-graining the spoken word testimony into synonym sets and dividing the trials based on indictment, we demonstrate the emergence of semantically distinct violent and nonviolent trial genres. We show that although in the late 18th century the semantic content of trials for violent offenses is functionally indistinguishable from that for nonviolent ones, a long-term, secular trend drives the system toward increasingly clear distinctions between violent and nonviolent acts. We separate this process into the shifting patterns that drive it, determine the relative effects of bureaucratic change and broader cultural shifts, and identify the synonym sets most responsible for the eventual genre distinguishability. This work provides a new window onto the cultural and institutional changes that accompany the monopolization of violence by the state, described in qualitative historical analysis as the civilizing process.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

ISSN

1091-6490

Publisher

National Academy of Sciences

Issue

26

Volume

111

Page range

9419-8242

Department affiliated with

  • History Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2014-07-02

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2015-03-05

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2014-07-02

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