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Theme: Crime and Punishment

How has the nature of crime and our responses to it changed over the centuries? Join us to find out more about war crimes investigations, public punishment and the path to a safer world. 

What's on

Thu
9
Jun

A Passing Fury: The Untold Story of the British Prosecution of the Nazis after 1945

AT Williams, winner of the George Orwell Prize in 2013, talks about his new book A Passing Fury that tells the story of the British prosecution of the Nazis after 1945. After the Second World War, the British with their Allies embarked on the largest programme of war crimes investigations and trials in history. Join the author as he explores the story of the extraordinary enterprise and asks the question: was justice done?

Tue
14
Jun

The Decline of Public Punishment in England 1750-1868

Between 1750 and 1868 the essentially public character of the punishment of criminals in England ended, symbolised by the end of public executions in 1868. James Sharpe, an expert on the history of crime and punishment, examines this transition, looking at executions and other forms of physical, symbolic and shaming punishments, and suggests how it relates to changes in attitudes to pain, suffering and violence.

Tue
14
Jun

Criminal: Why People do Bad Things

Tom Gash’s book Criminal promises to change the way you think about why people do bad things. Tom will share the central ideas of his book, expose popular myths about crime and discuss the path to a safer world. Find out more about how patterns of crime have changed over the past century, the origins of anti-social behaviour in childhood, and the successes and flaws of modern criminal justice systems.

Festival themes