Criminal law is the law relating to crimes. The general theory of the common law is, that all wrongs are divisible into two species: first, civil or private wrongs or torts; secondly, criminal or public wrongs. The former are to be redressed by private suits or remedies instituted by the parties injured. The latter are redressed by the state acting in its sovereign capacity.
The general description of the private wrongs is, that they comprehend those injuries which affect the rights and property of the individual, and terminate there; that of public wrongs or offences being, that they comprehend such acts as injure, not merely individuals, but the community at large, by endangering the peace, the comfort, the good order, the policy, and even the existence of society. In the first, therefore, so far as the law is concerned, the compensation of the individual whose rights have been infringed is held to be a sufficient atonement; but in the second class of offences it is demanded that the offender make satisfaction to the community as acting prejudicially to its welfare. The exact boundaries between these classes are not, however, always easy to be discerned, even in theory; for there are few private wrongs which do not exert an influence beyond the individual whom they directly injure. The divisions, torts and crimes, are thus not necessarily mutually exclusive, cases sometimes occurring in which the person injured obtains damages, while at the same time the criminal is subjected to punishment, not as against the individual, but as against the state. It is, moreover, obvious that legal criminality is not in any strict sense the measure of the morality of actions, though the legal enactment tends to enforce itself as a moral law. In large part it is only an approximate expression of the current sense of justice, this expression being both aided and hindered by the historical and constantly reflexive character of legal method.
The basis of the criminal law of Great Britain is to be found in a series of loose definitions and descriptions, of which many, and those among the more important, date from the 13th century. The irregular superstructure reared upon these consists mainly of parliamentary enactments which originated in the 18th century, but have been twice re-enacted in the 19th century - the first time between 1826 and 1832, and the second time in 1861, with an intermediary attempt at amendment in 1837. The laws as formulated, however, by no means always represent the law as interpreted, the whole system being further complicated by a mass of judicial comments and particular constructions. Thus while there is a statutory division of crimes into treasons, felonies, and misdemeanours, the distinctions between them are so uncertain that it is possible to regard the first head as merely the isolation of a sub-case of felony; while in respect of the second and third classes, the distinction can only be clearly marked by an enumeration of the crimes arbitrarily assigned to each in the common law and judges' decisions.
Even in severity of punishment a misdemeanour may rank as high as a felony. The Criminal Statutes Consolidation Acts - the result of a series of commissions extending over thirty years - accomplished little more in the way of systematization than the introduction of greater exactitude into the definition of certain individual offences and the gradation of penalties. The aim of criminal law as at present constituted, and since the end of the 19th century, is both retributive and preventive - in its former aspect being based upon the primitive passion of retaliation, in the latter primarily upon the fundamental instinct of self-preservation. The prevention of crime may, however, be effected in a threefold manner: by imposing a penalty which shall operate by fear to deter people from committing crimes, or by rendering it physically impossible for a person of known criminal tendency to repeat an offence, or by the reformation of the criminal. With the higher evolution of society the principle of retaliation has fallen into theoretic disrepute, though still a practical legal factor; and the problems of penology are made to turn almost exclusively upon the principle of prevention in these three aspects, and especially on the two last. The discovery in the 19th century that fear of a penalty only operated up to a certain point, beyond which an excessive punishment exercised a brutalizing tendency, led to a large mitigation of penal severity accompanied by a wide desire for the abolition of capital punishment, though this took almost one hundred years to be realised in Great Britain; while, on the other hand, various schemes have been devised for making punishment reformatory. These original changes in criminal law date in a large measure from the publication of Beccaria's Dei Delitti e delle Pene (On Offences and Penalties) in 1764. Research Criminal Law
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American organisation founded in 1909 to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination within the USA.
The NAACP works towards a society in which all individuals have equal rights and there is no racial hatred or racial discrimination. Though, in 2007, after nearly one hundred years and with racism rife in the USA this objective seems almost a pipedream. Indeed in October 2007 the NAACP declared a State of Emergency in response to the recent surge in assaults against young African Americans as demonstrated by the boot camp beating death of Martin Lee Anderson, noose hangings in Jena, Louisiana and other communities, and the assault by police on Shelwanda Riley a 15-year old girl who was thrown around, punched and pepper sprayed by a Fort Pierce, Floridapolice officer, a man roughly twice her size, as he tried to arrest her for a non-violent curfew violation.
To ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all citizens
To achieve equality of rights and eliminate race prejudice among the citizens of the United States
To remove all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes
To seek enactment and enforcement of federal, state, and local laws securing civil rights
To inform the public of the adverse effects of racial discrimination and to seek its elimination
To educate persons as to their constitutional rights and to take all lawful action to secure the exercise thereof, and to take any other lawful action in furtherance of these objectives, consistent with the NAACP's Articles of Incorporation and this Constitution.
Topiary is the art of clipping, cutting and trimming trees and shrubs into ornamental designs and regular forms, human figures, animals, cups and saucers, peacocks, etc. Modern custom confines topiary work to solitary specimens, often grown in tubs, and specially trained; but at some country mansions, notably Levens Hall in Westmorland, and Elvaston in Derbyshire, whole topiary gardens of mature trees, in some instances over one hundred years old, are maintained. The trees which lend themselves most readily to clipping are box, yew, and holly. Topiary clipping needs an accurate eye and a steady hand, as a false move of the shears will often spoil the symmetry of a tree for a whole season. Research Topiary
Cornstalk was an American Indian chief who led a clever and spirited attack upon General Lewis at Point Pleasant, near the mouth of the Great Kanawha in 1774. Each side lost about seventy-five killed and one hundred and forty wounded. Research Cornstalk
John Home was a Scottish clergyman and playwright. He was born in 1722 at Leith and died in 1808. He studied for the church, and was appointed to the parish of Athelstaneford, vacant by the death of Blair, author of the Grave. His tragedy of Douglas was performed at Edinburgh in 1756, and attained a. wonderful popularity, which was srill popular one hundred years later. The production gave great offence to the church as a body; the author was threatened with ecclesiastical censures, and in consequence resigned his living, and ever after acted and appeared as a layman. He retired into England, obtained the protection of the Earl of Bute, and received a considerable pension. His other plays, the Siege of Aquileia, the Fatal Discovery, Alonzo, and Alfred, are absolutely forgotten, a fate which their mediocrity deserves. His History of the Rebellion of 1745-1746 also disappointed public expectation. Research John Home
The Mohocks were ruffians usually armed with razors and knives, who went about London at night, wounding and disfiguring men and indecently exposing women. A reward of one hundred pounds was offered by royal proclamation in 1712 for apprehending any one of them. One of their favourite tricks was to roll a victim down Snow Hill in a tub, another was to push over coaches onto rubbish heaps. Research Mohocks
Robin Hood was a legendary English folk hero who led a band of outlaws in Sherwoodforest and opposed the tyranny and excessive taxes of King John.
Robin Hood is first mentioned by the Scottish historian Fordun, who died in 1386. According to Stow, he was an outlaw in the reign of Richard I (twelfth century). He entertained one hundred tall men, all good archers, with the spoil he took, but 'he suffered no woman to be oppressed, violated, or otherwise molested; poore men's goods he spared, abundantly relieving them with that which by theft he got from abbeys and houses of rich carles'. He was an immense favourite with the common people, who have dubbed him an earl. Stukeley says he was Robert Fitzooth, Earl of Huntingdon.
According to one tradition, Robin Hood and Little John were two heroes defeated with Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham, in 1265. Fuller, in his Worthies, considers him an historical character, but Thierry says he simply represents a class - that is the remnant of the old Saxon race, which lived in perpetual defiance of the Norman oppressors from the time of Hereward.
An old sporting magazine of December, 1808, says the true name of Robin Hood was Fitzooth, and Fitz being omitted leaves Ooth, and converting th into d it became 'Ood'. He was grandson of Ralph Fitzooth, Earl of Kyme, a Norman, who came to England in the reign of William Rufus. His maternal grandfather was Gilbert de Gaunt, Earl of Lincoln, and his grandmother was Lady Roisia de Bere, sister to the Earl of Oxford. His father was under the guardianship of Robert, Earl of Oxford, who, by the king's, order, gave him in marriage the third daughter of Lady Boisia.
The traditions about Fulk Fitz-Warine, great-grandson of Warine of Metz, so greatly resemble those connected with 'Robin Hood', that some suppose them to be both one. Fitz-Warine quarreled with John, and when John was king he banished Fulk, who became a bold forester.
The traditional bow and arrow of Robin Hood are religiously preserved at Kirklees Hall, Yorkshire, the seat of Sir George Armytage; and the site of his grave is pointed out in the park.
It is generally thought that Robin Hood died in 1325, which would bring him into the reign of Edward II, not Richard I, according to Sir Walter Scott.
In the accounts of King Edward II's household is an item which states that Robin Hood received his wages as king's valet, and a gratuity on leaving the service'. One of the ballads relates how Robin Hood took service under this king. Research Robin Hood
Eva Novak was an American actress. She was born in 1898 at St Louis, Missouri and died in 1988. She appeared in over one hundred films, almost always playing small bit parts for which she was not credited, her last film role being 'Mrs Simms' in the 1965 film 'Wild Seed'. Research Eva Novak
Bones (or osseous material) serve a number of diverse purposes in the human anatomy. In addition to providing structure, protection, and support for the organs of the body, bones also house marrow, which produces blood cells. Within the bones are also stored the calcium deposits which the body may access, via resorption, when needed. Additionally, bones detoxify the system, by removing heavy metals, such as lead and arsenic, as well as other toxins, from the bloodstream. Osseous tissue itself is made of water (about 1/4 of the bone weight), organic material (about 1/3 of the bone weight, most of which is the protein, ossein) and inorganic minerals (calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium predominate, though iron, sodium, potassium, chlorine, and fluorine are also present in small amounts). Most bones (with the exception of those of the skull) are initially pre-formed in cartilage and are then ossified as the newborn develops.
Two basic classification methods exist to categorize the bones of the body. These two classification systems are based upon anatomical location (axial or appendicular), and shape (long, short, flat, and irregular). Axial bones are the eighty bones which lie along the central, vertical axis of the body and support and protect the head and torso and include the skull and the spinal column.
Appendicular bones include the one hundred twenty-six bones which comprise the appendages, including the shoulders and hips, arms and legs, hands and feet, and fingers and toes. The shape classifications include long bones (such as the radius, humerus, and femur), the short bones (such as the carpals, tarsals, and manual and pedal phalanges), flat bones (such as the sternum, cranium bones, and scapulae), and irregular
bones (such as the vertebrae). Research Bone
The Battle of Fort Washington occurred on November the 16th, 1776 during the American War of Independence. The retreat of the Continental army had made Fort Washington untenable. Greene had orders to withdraw men and stores, but Congress interfered. He accordingly increased the garrison. Howe soon appeared, before the fort but gained it only after a severe struggle, which cost him 500 men. One hundred and fifty Americans fell, 3000 were made prisoners, and great stores of artillery and small arms fell to the British. Research Battle of Fort Washington
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