Beyond the Verdict
The Death Penalty and Clemency in Budapest
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7150857 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alison Frank Johnson (0009-0005-3174-666X, Harvard University, corresponding author), Robert Nemes (0000-0001-8187-4639, Colgate University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 35 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary European History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0960-7773 • E-ISSN: 1469-2171 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0960777325101082 |
| OpenAlex | W4414674527 |
| Language | EN |
This article examines one of thousands of reports describing murder trials that are stored in the archives of the Habsburg ruler in Vienna. The monarch was required to evaluate every civilian death sentence in his realm, including the Kingdom of Hungary, and he alone could decide if the execution should proceed or be commuted. But it was the relevant justice minister who composed the reports and framed the decision for the monarch. Through these reports, the minister shaped what would happen through persuasive narrative and expert advice. After evaluating seven hundred reports, we selected one specific case: a murder conviction in Budapest in 1915. We show how the justice minister, an expert in criminal justice reform and an opponent of the death penalty, directed the emperor towards clemency and contributed to the steady decrease in the use of capital punishment
Conviction · Criminal justice · Economic Justice · Emperor · Narrative · Ruler · Sentence · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis
| Highly cited | No |
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