The Dynamics of Death: Peterborough Coroners' Court, 1854-1905

大多数关于维多利亚时期可疑和暴力死亡的二手文献都是从地方法官或裁判法庭开始的。然而，任何可疑或意外死亡的第一次正式法庭听证是在当地验尸官的管辖下举行的。死因调查是在发现身体的几个小时或几天内进行的，其优势是能够为任何有用的证人作证，包括可能的嫌疑人。维多利亚时代的验尸官能够在经过调查后以谋杀和过失杀人罪起诉个人，而不受任何警方调查的影响。死因调查的裁决构成了随后任何起诉的基础，因此，死因裁判法院充当了起诉暴力犯罪的把关人。然而，法院可以裁定可疑死亡是意外、自杀，或者返回叙述性判决，而不指责任何个人。验尸官的陪审团根据验尸官提供的选项决定了最终裁决，他们是从一小群男性中挑选出来的。在彼得伯勒，人口很少，陪审团认识死者和其他涉案人员的可能性很高。陪审团、验尸官和死者之间的密切社区联系意味着他们的裁决很容易受到个人偏见的影响。这项提案建议调查这些联系，并确定陪审团的裁决是否因他们与死者的接近而受到损害，以及这是否阻碍了有效司法的实施。

Most secondary literature on Victorian suspicious and violent death begins in the magistrate or assize court. However, the first formal court hearing of any suspicious or unexpected death was held under the jurisdiction of the local coroner. The inquest was convened within hours or days of the discovery of the body, and had the advantage of being able to depose any useful witness, including likely suspects. The Victorian coroner was able to indict individuals for murder and manslaughter following an inquest, independently of any police investigation. The inquest verdict formed the basis of any subsequent prosecution, and thus the coroner's court acted as the gatekeeper to prosecuting violent crime. However, the court could rule that suspicious deaths were accidents, suicides, or return a narrative verdict without blaming any individual. The coroner's jury, who decided the final verdict based on options given by the coroner, were drawn from a small group of men. In Peterborough, the population was small, and the likelihood that the jury knew the deceased and others involved in the death was high. The close community ties between the jury, coroner and deceased meant that their verdicts were vulnerable to personal biases. This proposal suggests investigating these links, and determining whether the jury's verdicts were compromised by their proximity to the dead, and whether this prevented the administration of effective justice.