'Mercy without justice'? Press criticism of the pardoning process in late Eighteenth-Century London: the Kennedy case of 1770

This paper uses one particular case study of homicide to suggest that our historical understanding analysis of the use of discretion and the pardoning process in the criminal justice system is in need of revision. In 1769 a murder was committed on Westminster Bridge that would eventually involve some of the highest persons in the land in a long drawn out campaign to spare the lives of those responsible. In this paper I examine the process of pardoning much more deeply than has previously been the case. Here there was an attempt to subvert the discretionary power of the elite by the use of an ancient right to private redress, which exposed the appeal process to public debate. As a result every twist and turn was reported in the pages of the London press and those involved were subjected to criticism and scrutiny. This became interwoven with debates about politics, the role of government, and the judiciary as it played out. This paper also looks at the rarely used private Appeal for Death (or Murder). This archaic legal device allowed the victim’s wife and family to pursue ‘justice’ against the murderers in spite of the concerted attempts of some significant members of the ruling elite to influence the outcome. This legal device has had little examination by historians despite the fact that it effectively undermined the monarch’s ability to pardon those sentenced to hang.