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Howard
The use of death as punishment, already known from the earliest history of Britain, reached its all-time peak in the 18th century, when Parliament continuously enlarged the already long list of capital crimes. Finally over two hundred offences were punishable by death, among them stealing in a shop to the value of five shillings, stealing anything at all privily from a person, sending threatening letters, sacrilege, and cutting down a tree. Starting in the 1820s, this 'bloody code' was gradually repealed, partly owing to the general rise of humanitarianism and enlightenment, but also because juries were less and less willing to convict people for theft and other minor felonies if that meant they were to die