‘Upholding the Cause of Civilization’: The Australian Death Penalty in War and Colonialism
The abolition of the death penalty in Queensland in 1922 was the first in Australian jurisdictions, and the first in the British Empire. However, the legacy of the Queensland death penalty lingered in Australian colonial territories. This article considers a variety of practices in which the death p...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Queensland University of Technology
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/view/2473 |
| _version_ | 1811297377482440704 |
|---|---|
| author | Mark Finnane |
| author_facet | Mark Finnane |
| author_sort | Mark Finnane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The abolition of the death penalty in Queensland in 1922 was the first in Australian jurisdictions, and the first in the British Empire. However, the legacy of the Queensland death penalty lingered in Australian colonial territories. This article considers a variety of practices in which the death penalty was addressed by Australian decision-makers during the first half of the 20th century. These include the exemption of Australian soldiers from execution in World War I, use of the death penalty in colonial Papua and the Mandate Territory of New Guinea, hanging as a weapon of war in the colonial territories, and the retrieval of the death penalty for the punishment of war crimes. In these histories, we see not only that the Queensland death penalty lived on in other contexts but also that ideological and political preferences for abolition remained vulnerable to the sway of other historical forces of war and security. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:03:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8b17836f5dad49e7b409bb0555a8535e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2202-7998 2202-8005 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:03:18Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Queensland University of Technology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b17836f5dad49e7b409bb0555a8535e2022-12-22T02:59:22ZengQueensland University of TechnologyInternational Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy2202-79982202-80052022-09-01113233210.5204/ijcjsd.24732783‘Upholding the Cause of Civilization’: The Australian Death Penalty in War and ColonialismMark Finnane0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3776-8091Griffith UniversityThe abolition of the death penalty in Queensland in 1922 was the first in Australian jurisdictions, and the first in the British Empire. However, the legacy of the Queensland death penalty lingered in Australian colonial territories. This article considers a variety of practices in which the death penalty was addressed by Australian decision-makers during the first half of the 20th century. These include the exemption of Australian soldiers from execution in World War I, use of the death penalty in colonial Papua and the Mandate Territory of New Guinea, hanging as a weapon of war in the colonial territories, and the retrieval of the death penalty for the punishment of war crimes. In these histories, we see not only that the Queensland death penalty lived on in other contexts but also that ideological and political preferences for abolition remained vulnerable to the sway of other historical forces of war and security.https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/view/2473death penalityqueenslandabolitioncolonialismwar crimespapua new guinea |
| spellingShingle | Mark Finnane ‘Upholding the Cause of Civilization’: The Australian Death Penalty in War and Colonialism International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy death penality queensland abolition colonialism war crimes papua new guinea |
| title | ‘Upholding the Cause of Civilization’: The Australian Death Penalty in War and Colonialism |
| title_full | ‘Upholding the Cause of Civilization’: The Australian Death Penalty in War and Colonialism |
| title_fullStr | ‘Upholding the Cause of Civilization’: The Australian Death Penalty in War and Colonialism |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Upholding the Cause of Civilization’: The Australian Death Penalty in War and Colonialism |
| title_short | ‘Upholding the Cause of Civilization’: The Australian Death Penalty in War and Colonialism |
| title_sort | upholding the cause of civilization the australian death penalty in war and colonialism |
| topic | death penality queensland abolition colonialism war crimes papua new guinea |
| url | https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/view/2473 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT markfinnane upholdingthecauseofcivilizationtheaustraliandeathpenaltyinwarandcolonialism |