TY - CHAP
T1 - The Legal Legacy of Jack the Ripper
AU - Griffiths, Cerian
AU - Rutherford, Helen
PY - 2025/12/17
Y1 - 2025/12/17
N2 - This chapter discusses the legal legacy of the Ripper murders. Without an accused and a trial, this is not an easy task. We identify two limited areas where we can identify a legal aftermath: bankruptcy and false accusations. We then offer a novel approach to the legal legacy in a counter- factual discussion and analysis of what might have happened had Jack been apprehended. By considering the possible impact of a Whitechapel trial on the law, and the role of the press within the trial, this we use a counter-factual approach to examine what the legal legacy of a trial could have been. Ultimately, we conclude that even had Jack been caught, tried, and found guilty the events would not have left a lasting legal legacy
AB - This chapter discusses the legal legacy of the Ripper murders. Without an accused and a trial, this is not an easy task. We identify two limited areas where we can identify a legal aftermath: bankruptcy and false accusations. We then offer a novel approach to the legal legacy in a counter- factual discussion and analysis of what might have happened had Jack been apprehended. By considering the possible impact of a Whitechapel trial on the law, and the role of the press within the trial, this we use a counter-factual approach to examine what the legal legacy of a trial could have been. Ultimately, we conclude that even had Jack been caught, tried, and found guilty the events would not have left a lasting legal legacy
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105024620342
U2 - 10.4324/9781003266082-37
DO - 10.4324/9781003266082-37
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9781032203348
T3 - Routledge International Handbooks
SP - 375
EP - 385
BT - The Routledge Handbook of Jack the Ripper Studies
A2 - Kilday, Anne-Marie
A2 - Nash, David
A2 - Watson, Katherine D.
PB - Routledge
CY - Abingdon
ER -