ABSTRACT
Magistrates, or justices of the peace, were appointed by the Lord Chancellor on the advice of the Lord Lieutenant of each county. At the start of each Quarter Session, the chairman magistrate would deliver his Charge to the Grand Jury, in which he would advise jurors of any difficult points of law arising from the cases in the calendar, and wax lyrical on issues such as the state of crime in the county, the need for increased education or religious teaching, or the inherent superiority of English law. Historians have come up with a longer list of factors for and against mercy which they believe influenced pardoning decisions. The public and humiliating nature of the punishment would convince the community that wickedness was receiving its just deserts, and would deter potential offenders. Public participation was an integral feature of executions, red letter days in the social calendar of most people.
