I was comparing the 1900s (when hanging was the punishment for what the Americans would call “first degree murder”) with the 1700s (when you could be hanged for stealing relatively small amounts of property.) Of course, there were miscarriages of justice: that’s one very good reason for not having the death penalty even for murder. I’m sure that if I said “In medieval times, traitors were hung drawn and quartered” you could have said “Along with a lot of people who were accused of being traitors, but were actually innocent”. And when I said “At my school, you only got the cane for smoking, bullying and vandalism” someone could have added “What about little Johnny Smith who’d gone behind the bike sheds to find a puncture kit and got three of the best with the smokers”. True, but off the point.
Six Strokes Of The Cane20
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