From Criminal Justice to Public Health

Project Description

Suicide was not official decriminalised until 1961. Nonetheless, social views began to change before the twentieth century. This project explores early nineteenth-century responses to suicide through looking at coroners’ inquests. The key research question is which suicides were deemed felonious and which were viewed as (temporary) insanity? This is a fascinating period because there is still a clash between criminal justice and health. Society has not yet reached the point where suicide becomes a matter of health. This project explores juries’ views and the narratives put forward at inquest. It also examines the role of race/nationality, gender, class, and age in shaping these narratives. Bath Archives has a fantastic unbroken run of coroners’ inquests from 1800 to 1830. These sources do not often survive or are overlooked by historians of crime who tend to use trial records rather than inquests. These are the best records as they are the closest in time and space to the death and involve the local community.