Gender, Truth and State Power - Capitalising on Punishment

This book is concerned with critically analysing the importance of the status of knowledge in establishing 'truth' about female defendants convicted of murder during the 20th Century. While the abolition of the death penalty in the UK has insured that the impact of this knowledge is no longer one of life and death, modern cases such as that of Sally Clark, whose guilty verdict was eventually overturned, nevertheless demonstrate the devastating impact that those with the power to define the 'truth' still have on the lives of individuals who are unable to construct a dominant truth of their own during their trials.

Using the key themes of truth, gender and power, the book also focuses on agency and rationality in relation to female criminality, masculinity and miscarriages of justice. Challenging official discourse which historically has incorporated entrenched constructions of women who kill as mad, bad or tragic victims, this book argues for the creation of new subject positions and alternative discourses within which female violence can be understood.

List of contents

Contents:

About the author

Dr Anette Ballinger is a lecturer in Criminology in the School of Social Science and Public Policy, Keele University. This study builds on her previous book Dead Woman Walking, winner of the Hart Socio-Legal book prize, 2001.

Summary

This volume draws on a wealth of primary source material, the vast majority of which has never been published before, to present a study of women reprieved of murder during the 20th Century. The work highlights the power difference between the condemned and those working within the criminal justice system. This comprehensive examination of such pow

Product details

• Authors: Anette Ballinger, Ballinger Anette
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 14.08.2020
• EAN: 9780367596361
• ISBN: 978-0-367-59636-1
• No. of pages: 142
• Series: Gender in Law, Culture, and Society
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Law > International law, foreign law; History, LAW / Criminal Law / General, HISTORY / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Gender Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Social Policy, Criminal law & procedure, LAW / Jurisprudence, Gender studies, gender groups, Jurisprudence & general issues, Social Law, Crime and criminology, Crime & criminology, Jurisprudence and general issues, Criminal law: procedure and offences, Social law and Medical law