Toward a more just criminal code in pre-revolutionary France: J.-P. Brissot (1754–1793)

Abstract

Jacques-Pierre Brissot, a controversial and often ignored journalist and politician of the French Revolution, began his career as a serious publicist by concentrating on criminal code reform. Among his early efforts is a lengthy pamphlet investigating the problem of the innocent falsely accused, Le Sang innocent vengé, ou Discours sur les réparations dues aux accusés innocens (1781), awarded a prize by the Academy of Châlons-sur-Marne. The Criminal Ordinance of 1670, still in effect at that time, was the object of Brissot's attack. Although a number of scholars of the Ancien Régime have indicated that the police force of the period was totally inadequate and that a severe penal code may have been one of the only ways to deter crime, these were not Brissot's main concerns. He, like his mentors the philosophes, and particularly Voltaire, chose legal institutions as an indication and illustration of problems and abuses in the existing system. Brissot's insight, however, was his perception of harsh and unnecessarily cruel punishments as a threat to the life and liberty of the individual. His concern was the damage done by legal proceedings to the individual rather than swift retribution for the damage done by the individual to society. He contended that reforms were needed to create a criminal justice system more responsive to individual rights. This article examines Brissot's pamphlet and demonstrates that he should be granted a prominent place among the advocates of reform.