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Punishment then vs Punishment now
How were crimes punished in the 18th and 19th century compared to today?
Crime in Richmond during the 1900’s isn’t very different to crimes in modern Richmond today. Examples of crimes are like assault, theft and murder (murder isn’t as common now). However the way that these crimes are punished is very different now a days. Back in the 1900’s murder and serious crimes were usually punished by capital punishment. People were hanged and killed. Other crimes such as robbery and being drunk were usually punished by imprisonment. People who were suspected to be suicidal were locked up in special prison cells for their own protection. People could have been kept in cells for as short as overnight and as long as a month. There were usually as little as 3 or 4 people per cell and up to as much as 12 people in a cell. Crimes now in Richmond is different as there is no capital punishment, but imprisonment lasts for much longer even life time in prison.
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