RB 76

A specific controversy between the state and the condemned in many places concerned the clothes of the condemned. The condemned often wanted to be seen, in clothes for example through their whiteness implying martyrdom, while the state preferred simple clothes. Moving to the explanations first the focus is on the possibility to explain these crimes at all and the question is put: Can we find any explanation beyond the executions themselves? Then twentieth– and twentyfirst–century research is discussed and some results are given. Most important among them is probably that most of the story of research and legislation is the story of the era of the Enlightenment and of Enlightenment itself and ideas relating to it. However, four explanations given in earlier research are presented. The first is suicide which was seen as a quite positive idea by some Enlightenment writers, but the idea probably was abhorred by many of the criminals that coming from non-intellectual environment saw suicide as a certain route to hell. In many ways opposite is the idea that these crimes were the result of an Lutheran and specifically pietistic environment in which the preparation for the execution and the theological interpretation of the execution itself resulted in the longing to go this certain way to heaven. This explanation has since the eighteenth century been mostly promoted by researchers in Denmark. As an explanation it has the flaw that crimes and actions against them existed in environment of other confession. Still it points to theology as an important brick needed when building an understanding of these crimes and criminals. Moving to another environment psychiatry and psychiatric explanations seem to have existed in several countries but were most vocal and probably strongest in France. The role of the psychiatrists in society and in the courts gained in importance, especially during the early nineteenth century. Finally there are the view presented by Edmond Locard that although there are motives, the motives for these crimes are hidden or rare, which make explanations difficult. summary 288

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