The Dooms of King Alfred
AbstractThis article outlines the origins of English common law tracing back to the 6th and 7th Centuries AD and the statutes (Doom's) of King Alfred. Various clauses of the statutes are summarised and analysed with respect to the penalties, which were imposed, that of compensation rather than incarceration or corporal or capital punishment. This form of remedy for criminal and civil wrongs is contrasted with current demands from some sectors of the community for harsher and longer sentencing laws. The conclusion reached is that the Dooms, with one exception, did not provide for imprisonment as a punitive tool. |