What are the jougs and the branks? What kind of punishment was meted out through the Scottish courts and for what crimes? What were the emerging debates about crime and the treatment of criminals in this period? When did public hanging stop being outside and when was the trap door system of hanging introduced? How did the Howard League play its part in criminal justice reform in the 19th century? How were trials conducted and covered in the period and what was the popular reaction and press coverage of these crimes? From blasphemy to witchcraft, to riot and treason, to wife killers and infanticide, to poisoners, thieves and political prisoners and, of course Scotland's first serial killers, Burke and Hare, Scotland's criminal past had it all. This class answers some of these questions and examines examples of such crimes and their punishment from the period.