The «imagination» of Cesare Beccaria. Punitive law and legal use of torture in a late eighteenth century Sicilian treaty on criminal matters
Keywords:
Vincenzo Malerba, Cesare Beccaria, Dei delitti e delle pene, judicial torture, illuminist movement for penal reform, reform of penal laws.
Abstract
In 1777 a lawyer from Catania, Vincenzo Malerba, published an apology for torture in Catania and Palermo. The staunch defense of a judicial practice which was already obsolete even in Sicily, in effect concealed the intention of reaffirming the principle of absolutism, as well as to manifest the virulent opposition to the innovative theories promulgated by the Cesare Beccaria’s famous pamphlet, which appeared on the European scene in 1764. The Etnean jurist also wished to oppose the moderate reformism of his countrymen.Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Article download
Crossmark
How to Cite
Alibrandi R. (2015). The «imagination» of Cesare Beccaria. Punitive law and legal use of torture in a late eighteenth century Sicilian treaty on criminal matters. Cuadernos de Historia del Derecho, 22, 257-276. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_CUHD.2015.v22.50536
Issue
Section
Articles
License
In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Cuadernos de Historia del Derecho is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.
