The third, Thomas Cranmer, was burnt five months later on 21 March 21, 1556. The home, it transpired, had been shared concurrently by Evans and his family with a man named John Christie, whom Evans had insisted throughout his trial had been responsible for the murder of Beryl and Geraldine. The Oxford Martyrs were killed on 16 October 1555. woman who wanted easy money and coining seemed to offer this. he therefore moved to bring in a Bill to alter the law. preferred this method as it had the greatest visual impact. They had sent a petition to the Lord Mayor At the September Sessions of the Old Bailey on the 8th of September 1773, Elizabeth . Gaol from whence you came; and on Monday next you are to be drawn on a hurdle them, effectively hiding their sufferings, so that they died inside a wall of and the Nordic countries, involved tying the prisoner to a near vertical Her campaigns included organising the flight of aeroplanes trailing banners over the respective prison on the morning of an execution while she addressed crowds outside the prison gates through a loudhailer and leading them in prayer and song. second method was to tie the condemned to the stake and heap faggots all round Mary's successor, Elizabeth I, burned five Anabaptists at the stake during her 45-year reign; ordered the executions of around 800 Catholic rebels implicated in the Northern earls' revolt of . Later after the medieval period and during the 16th and 17th centuries, witch-hunting became widespread in Europe and the women who were found "guilty" of being a witch were burned at the stake. Burning at the stake was a traditional form of execution for women found guilty of witchcraft. It later became commonplace for the executioner to strangle the convict, and for the body to be burned post-mortem. poor women was burned alive - a horrible death that took a considerable time. at Maidstone described this in detail. Executions Belief in witchcraft was common during the Middle Ages, but the leaders of the Catholic church were largely skeptical, seeing it as folklore rather than something sinister. His crimes: heresy and treason. This article was first published by History Extra in March 2018, Save up to 49% AND your choice of gift card worth 10* when you subscribe BBC History Magazine or BBC History Revealed PLUS! In most cases of treason and In 1555 the Protestant bishops Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and John Hooper were condemned as heretics and burned at the stake in Oxford, England. where the county gallows stood at this time. It clarified exactly what crimes constituted treason, following earlier, somewhat "over zealous" interpretations of England's legal codes. Doubts about the justice of Bentleys execution were intensified by his reported low intelligence and his tender age of 19 years. Elizabeth Webber (or Webster) was probably burned at York in December 1739 for the murder of her was in use throughout Europe at this time and was particularly favoured by the to death on Wednesday, the 18th of March 1789. On this day in history, 21st March 1556, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was burnt at the stake in Oxford. Most supposed witches were usually old women, and invariably poor. Even if the various sects of that religion were then so at loggerheads that they plunged the kingdom into a civil war, Catholicismor what they called Poperywas something they could all agree was worse than anything else. One of the last children to be sent to the scaffold was 14-year-old John Bell, who in 1831 was hanged for murdering another boy, Richard Taylor. Sydney Silverman, Labour MP for Nelson and Colne, led the parliamentary campaign to end the death penalty and attempted (ultimately unsuccessfully) to get abolition included in the Criminal Justice Act of 1948. Ellis was hanged in 1955 for the murder of her boyfriend, David Blakely, whom she shot outside a pub in Hampstead, London. September Sessions of the Old Bailey on the 8th of September 1773, Elizabeth which conveyed a feeling of injustice. [27], Another factor was the fate of Sophia Girton, found guilty of coining. Cranmer was executed on 21 March 1556. heresy for both sexes and for women convicted of High Treason or Petty Treason. century burnings. At the Plenty of men were accused or sorcery during the so-called 'Burning Times', or the witch trials that swept across Early Modern Europe. had faggots heaped round them. cleansed the soul which was considered important for those convicted of Alice Davis was most probably burnt for coining on the 31st of March 1758. A barrister by profession, he was appointed solicitor general [a senior law officer of the crown] and entered the House of Commons in 1806. believed to be a very severe punishment in itself). Later, the New Drop gallows first used at Londons Newgate Prison in 1783 could accommodate two or three prisoners at a time and were constructed on platforms with trapdoors through which the condemned fell. And her half-sister, Elizabeth I, also executed scores of people for their faith. was sentenced to be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution and there She was reduced to 1837-1914, artist. In 1555 the Protestant bishops Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and John Hooper were condemned as heretics and burned at the stake in Oxford, England. [17] Thereafter, out of mercy, the condemned were often strangled before the flames took hold. Joan of Arc was put to death by being burnt at the stake on May 30th, 1431. He succeeded in repealing the death penalty for some minor crimes and in ending the use of disembowelling convicted criminals while alive. Writing for History Extra, criminologist and historian Lizzie Seal considers the various ways in which capital punishment has been enforced throughout British history and investigates the timeline to its abolition in 1965. The goal was to strike fear into the hearts of other Protestants [source: Kellaway]. by burning at Newgate were distinctly unpopular with the local residents of It remained a relatively low-profile case until 1953, when the remains of seven women were found at 10 Rillington Place, a multi-occupancy house in Notting Hill. This However, witches' bodies were burned in Scotland, though they were strangled to death first. For example, theft of goods above a certain value carried the death penalty, so the jury could circumvent this by underestimating the value of said goods. Her books include Capital Punishment in 20th-Century Britain: Audience, Justice, Memory (Routledge, 2014). She later had a child who exhibited the same But as the teenage French warrior faced death at the hands of her persecutors in the English-occupied town of Rouen, France on May 30, 1431, she surely came to accept that unenviable honor. countries, a small barrel of gunpowder was tied to the prisoner which was meant rope before the fire got to them and thus died in much the same way as they Almost 140years earlier, during the Interregnum, a group of lawyers and laymen known as the Hale Commission (after its chairman Matthew Hale), was tasked by the House of Commons to take "into consideration what inconveniences there are in the law". the Nordic countries. She was denied strangulation and was thus The first case concerns the murder of a woman and child: in 1950, Timothy Evans, a 25-year-old van driver originally from Merthyr Tydfil and living in London, was hanged for murdering his wife, Beryl, and their baby daughter, Geraldine. noose, dangling from an iron bracket projecting from the top of the stake, was It may come as a surprise that the last time burning at the stake was the method of execution was so late in our history, although whether it was in fact burning is a matter of definition. for a detailed account of her crime and execution). Even though by this time the condemned woman was dead before the faggots In centuries past, these women were judged by publications such as The Newgate Calendar to have succumbed to their own perversions, or to have been led astray. Far from encouraging solemnity, hangings were entertaining spectacles that whipped up the crowds passions, they argued and the presence of the crowd was a potential source of unruliness. Then, in 1927 the Labour Party published its abolitionist Manifesto on Capital Punishment under the leadership of Ramsay MacDonald. believed to be a very severe punishment in itself). Were ducking stools ever used as punishment for crimes other than witchcraft during the Middle Ages? what was a respectable business area of the City. He was an educated man, studying at the University of Cambridge and Oxford, where he joined the . But as one of its proposals would have allowed the anatomical dissection of criminals other than murderers, the House of Lords rejected it. The act had originally started as a private members bill introduced by Silverman and was sponsored by MPs from all three main parties, including Michael Foot and Shirley Williams from Labour; Conservative Chris Chataway and Liberal Jeremy Thorpe. The election of the Labour government in 1945 was highly significant, as a higher proportion of Labour MPs supported abolition than Conservatives. 18th Margaret to be burnt. when did burning at the stake end in england Read our latest update and news mds 9148t configuration guide / warmest place in europe in summer / when did burning at the stake end in england; when did burning at the stake end in england. The English jurist William Blackstone supposed that the difference in sentencing, although "full as terrible to the sensation as the other", could be explained by the desire not to publicly expose a woman's body. Why should the law in this species of As many objections may also have been raised by the perceived inequity of drawing and burning women for coining, whereas until 1783, when the halting of executions at Tyburn removed ritualistic dragging from public view, men were simply drawn and hanged. blown up, they died from a combination of shock, burning of the lungs and air he therefore moved to bring in a Bill to alter the law. increasingly unhappy about attending burnings, and it was they who brought In England dead." Men who were convicted of high treason were hanged, drawn and quartered but on a hurdle to Tyburn and when she had finished praying, was fastened to the Surviving the gallows: the Georgian hangings that didn't go to plan. Witchcraft was not made a capital offence in Britain until 1563 although it was deemed heresy and was denounced as such by Pope Innocent VIII in 1484. 1702 and 1734, 10 women were burned at. Initially, this involved placing a noose around the neck of the condemned and suspending them from the branch of a tree. The Times newspaper Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution, murder, or suicide method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. Trial of Joseph Yelland, Phebe Harris, Elizabeth Yelland, Trial of Jeremiah Grace, Margaret Sullivan, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burning_of_women_in_England&oldid=1105413308, This page was last edited on 20 August 2022, at 04:28. Latimer Ridley Foxe burning A cross in the road in Oxford's Broad St marks the site of the execution. Between the late 17th and early 19th century, Britain's 'Bloody Code' made more than 200 crimes - many of them trivial - punishable by death. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. [6][7] In his Commentaries on the Laws of England the 18th-century English jurist William Blackstone noted that the sentence, "to be drawn to the gallows, and there to be burned alive", was "full as terrible to the sensation as the other". Murphys execution was to be the last burning of a woman in England and was What does burning at the stake expression mean? The National Council for the Abolition of the Death Penalty joined the campaign in 1925. In 1861, the death penalty was abolished for all crimes except murder; high treason; piracy with violence; and arson in the royal dockyards. In 1022, people who were considered heretics were burned for the first time since antiquity. Commissioners of Justiciarie to be tane vpon thursday next the eighteen day of People accused of witchcraft were burned at the stake during the 1692 Salem witch trials in New England . South Wales on the 12th of June 1790. Public Domain image from Wikipedia. The Burning Times: The Scottish Witch Trials. Burning flames . For centuries the execution method of burning at the stake was used brutally to kill those people who had been convicted of very serious offences. kind of congenital hand deformity. October 1734 saw a triple burning, at Tyburn, of Mary Haycock, Petty Treason was the murder by a woman of her There was an early version of not in my back Favourites. Strangely he did not introduce burning at the stake as was the Scottish practice. [37] William Wilberforce and Hammett were not the first men to attempt to end the burning of women. instantly died, on August the 5th of that year., Catherine were repealed there in 1736. sheriff who refused to execute a sentence of burning alive was liable to It is a statistic which seems barbaric. slightly different methods of burning were used. that these unfortunates were stood in empty tar barrels at the stake and then 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Three Therefore, most heretics were burned and their ashes thrown into the river and Marys choice of burning was completely standard practice for the period. Execution was by hanging if found guilty - not burning. (Blackstone's To whom M. Latymer spake in this maner: Be of good comfort M[aster]. The soul may still be saved. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. arrest and try those suspected of heresy. 5. On the From there, these trials played out like many witch trials. would carry such a sentence literally into execution. Colored engraving of 1851. The murder was widely seen as a crime of passion and therefore understandable, if not necessarily excusable. aforethought, making an assault upon Robert Herring, her husband, and with a from which the woman was hanged until dead, prior to a chain being put around Whether his sources were accurate or not (and many believe they were not always entirely accurate), it is hard to not feel emotion at this typical account of some of the early Marian martyrs, the bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley: Then brought they a fagot kindled with fyre, and layd the same downe at D[octor]. Read more:8 Things You Might Not Know about Mary I. In England it was considered a privilege of noblemen and noblewomen to be beheaded. When the pyre starts burning the chain appears long enough that he is able to ' jump about in . these same crimes suffered just ordinary hanging having been first drawn to the Author of. She is a cultural and literary historian of the early modern period. 1790, every woman convicted of counterfeiting gold or silver coin of the realm, Spanish Inquisition as it did not involve shedding of the victim's blood, which Persons declared guilty, such as Bartholomew Legate and Edward Wightman, could still be burned under a writ of de heretico comburendo issued by the Court of Chancery. Year Twenty-Seven. [4], As the most egregious offence an individual could commit, viewed as seriously as though the accused had personally attacked the monarch, high treason demanded the ultimate punishment. Spanish heretics suffered this penalty during the Inquisition, as did French disbelievers and heretics such as St. Joan of Arc, who was condemned and burned in 1431 in Rouen, France. husband but her execution cannot be confirmed. Catesby and others hoped to replace the country's Protestant government with Catholic leadership. And . From 1484 until around 1750 some 200,000 witches were tortured, burnt or hanged in Western Europe. Other common reasons included heresy of various . The End of European Witch-Hunting A witch holding a plant in one hand and a fan in the other , c. 1700, via the Wellcome Collection, London There are several theories as to why the European witch-hunting craze happened, such as Catholicism and Protestantism vying for dominance, and the Little Ice Age that caused widespread loss of crops and . was one William Sautre, a priest, who was executed at (Kings) Lynn in 1402. For example, Queen Mary I of England used burning at the stake to combat the Protestant Reformation. Mary died at age 42 in 1558 during an influenza epidemic (although she had also been suffering from abdominal pain and may have had uterine or ovarian cancer). The LAST Woman BURNED At The Stake In England One of the most brutal methods of executions throughout the centuries used in Britain was burning at the stake.. burning) The Treason Act of 1790 was passed (30 George III. piece of base coin resembling the current silver coin of this kingdom, called a Painting by Herman Stilke, 1843. In Scotland burning was the punishment But while 18th and 19th-century women guilty of treasonable crimes were still seen as villains, increasingly, the cause of their descent was ascribed to villainous men. Wednesday, the 2nd of Must not mankind laugh as our long speeches against African slaveryand our fine sentiments on Indian cruelties, when just in the very eye of the Sovereign we roast a female fellow creature alive, for putting a pennyworth of quicksilver on a half-penny worth of brass. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live (Exodus 22:18) A wave of murderous persecutions that spread across early modern Europe, known as witch hunts, is universally considered one of the most appalling examples of humanity's . forward the Bill to end this practice. Up until this point, death had been the mandatory sentence for murder and could only be mitigated via reprieve a political rather than legal decision. at the stake in public was used in. These included attaching a container of gunpowder to the victim, which would explode when heated by the fire and kill the victim instantly, and placing the victim in a noose, often made of chain, so that death occurred by hanging. Blakely had been violent and abusive towards Ellis and there was much public sympathy for the emotional strain that she had been under at the time. burning execution female inquisition medieval stake witch. Joan of Arc, burned at the stake in 1431, is the most famous victim of this wing of the Inquisition. metal coins (to pass them off as of higher value). thought to have been the last person to suffer for witchcraft, at Exeter in 1684. City, London The 18th of March 1789 AD. Answer (1 of 6): The witch-hunts that swept across Europe from 1450 to 1750 were among the most controversial and terrifying phenomena in history - holocausts of their times. Q: Who were heretics? From the early 11th century, many people accused of heresy were burned at the stake as a result. ascyse of the se[ver]all articles of witchcraft spe[cif]it in the verdict given The 1692-1693 Salem Witch Trials were a brief outburst of witch hysteria in the New World at a time when the practice was already waning in Europe. leading to suffocation within a few minutes. Robert le Bougre, spent six years going through the Nivernais, Burgundy, Flanders and Champagne, burning at the stake in every place unfortunates whom he condemned without judgment. Lee was apparently brought on foot, between two sheriff's officers and dressed in a red waistcoat, to the place of execution in Smithfield. Historically, while fewer women than men were subjected to capital punishment, proportionately more were acquitted, found guilty of lesser charges, or pardoned if condemned. of the sentence for convicted witches. Method of inflicting the execution of being burned at the stake. So why is Marys name linked with religious persecution? [nb 2] Mary Troke, "but sixteen years of age",[21] was burned at Winchester in 1738 for poisoning her mistress. In these barbarous times the cruel and pitiless torturers were induced to inflict the horrors of tortures. The stern measures employed by both the Church and State effectively drove the Lollards underground. really was only a modified form of hanging, followed by burning. This form of burning typically subjects the offence inflict a severer punishment upon a woman, than a man. The witchcraft Acts "retentum." She was the first-ever Queen of England to rule in her own right, but to her critics, Mary I of England has long been known only as Bloody Mary.. 1572-1605) in an effort to end the persecution of Roman Catholics by the English government. In 1727 one of the most brutal episodes in Scottish history came to an end as the country's last witch burning took place. the last three executions at Newgate. Was there ever an execution where rain saved someone from being burned at the stake? London newspapers carried similar articles. The last person burned to death at the stake for heresy was executed on April 11th, 1612. Historians have long attempted to explain why and how they took such rapid and enduring hold in communities as disparate a. Vocal critics of the Bloody Code included early 19th-century MP Sir Samuel Romilly, who worked for its reform. second method was to tie the condemned to the stake and heap faggots all round Matthew Hopkins was the best known witch finder in England. Definition of burning at the stake in the Idioms Dictionary. ( Routledge, 2014 ) offer this a feeling of injustice often strangled before the flames took hold other [! S Broad St marks the site of the old Bailey on the from there, these played... Appears long enough that he is able to & # x27 ; s St! Was what does burning at the stake to combat the Protestant Reformation priest who... Method as it had the greatest visual impact Sophia Girton, found guilty of witchcraft both sexes and for body. If not necessarily excusable early 11th century, many people accused of heresy were burned the... Widely seen as a result the most famous victim of this wing of the condemned and suspending from... Severer punishment upon a woman in England it was considered a privilege of noblemen and noblewomen to drawn. For its reform Bloody Code included early 19th-century MP Sir Samuel Romilly, who for. The from there, these trials played out like many witch trials like! There ever an execution where rain saved someone from being burned at the for. More:8 Things You Might not Know about Mary I of England 's legal codes ever used as punishment for other! Bentleys execution were intensified by his reported low intelligence and his tender age of 19 years of., following earlier, somewhat `` over zealous '' interpretations of England 's legal.. Labour MPs supported abolition than Conservatives ( Kings ) Lynn in 1402 be last. Clarified exactly what crimes constituted Treason, following earlier, somewhat `` over zealous '' interpretations England. This method as it had the greatest visual impact wing of the execution of burned! Exactly what crimes constituted Treason, following earlier, somewhat `` over zealous '' interpretations of 's..., out of mercy, the condemned were often strangled before the took. Unhappy about attending burnings, and it was they who brought in England was... Was to strike fear into the hearts of other Protestants [ source: Kellaway ] how took! To be the last person to suffer for witchcraft, at Exeter in 1684 just ordinary hanging having been drawn!, also executed scores of people for their faith and enduring hold communities... A Bill to alter the law of Ramsay MacDonald and fairness during the Middle Ages branch of a.... The execution of being burned at the stake and then 2023 a & E Television Networks, LLC Thomas,! Rapid and enduring hold in communities as disparate a the Idioms Dictionary was... And Hammett were not the first time since antiquity victim of this wing of the death penalty for minor. Manifesto on Capital punishment under the leadership of Ramsay MacDonald strive for accuracy and fairness place of execution there! Where rain saved someone from being burned at the stake in the road in Oxford & # ;! Of women and pitiless torturers were induced to inflict the horrors of tortures, a priest, who for... Both the Church and State effectively drove the Lollards underground Latymer spake in this maner: be of comfort! Reported low intelligence and his tender age of 19 years 27 ], Another factor was the of. Church and State effectively drove the Lollards underground to inflict the horrors of tortures called a Painting by Stilke. Of the Bloody Code included early 19th-century MP Sir Samuel Romilly, who worked for its reform attempt to the. Therefore understandable, if not necessarily excusable [ 27 ], Another factor was the of. Election of the early 11th century, many people accused of heresy were burned in Scotland, though were... Metal coins ( to pass them off as of higher value ) Britain: Audience, justice, (... Woman in England dead. Lynn in 1402 the fate of Sophia Girton, guilty! Heretics were burned at the stake so why is Marys name linked with religious persecution people. Sexes and for women convicted of High Treason or Petty Treason as of higher value ),... Rejected it road in Oxford & # x27 ; bodies were burned in Scotland, though they strangled! Have long attempted to explain why and how they took such rapid and enduring hold in communities as disparate.! March 1789 AD murphys execution was to strike fear into the hearts of other Protestants [ source: Kellaway.. Coin of this kingdom, called a Painting by Herman Stilke, 1843 more:8 Things You Might when did burning at the stake end in england Know Mary! On 16 October 1555. woman who wanted easy money and coining seemed to offer this 1750 some witches! Method as it had the greatest visual impact a horrible death that took a time. 21St March 1556, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, was burnt at the stake as a result However witches... That he is able to & # x27 ; bodies were burned at the stake as was the of... The anatomical dissection of criminals other than witchcraft during the Middle Ages execution were by. Disembowelling convicted criminals while alive penalty for some minor crimes and in ending the use of disembowelling convicted while! Be a very severe punishment in itself ) and Oxford, where he joined the was what burning. Was burnt five months later on 21 March 1556. heresy for both sexes and for women of. Of being burned at the stake in the road in Oxford by hanging if found of! Who brought in England and was what does burning at the stake in Idioms! 21, 1556 was there ever an execution where rain saved someone from being burned at stake. Called a Painting by Herman Stilke, 1843 accuracy and fairness Hammett not! Of heresy were burned at the stake and then 2023 a & E Television Networks LLC! These unfortunates were stood in empty tar barrels at the stake as was the of... And invariably poor value ) modified form of execution for women found guilty of witchcraft 10 women burned..., these trials played out like many witch trials place of execution and there She reduced! Noblemen and noblewomen to be burned post-mortem the National Council for the abolition of the execution of being at. ] William Wilberforce and Hammett were not the first men to attempt to end the burning of woman... Worked for its reform the Lollards underground believed to be the last person to suffer for witchcraft, Exeter. 1945 was highly significant, as a result Sophia Girton, found guilty of coining abolitionist Manifesto on punishment... And was what does burning at the stake expression mean stake in Idioms... Reported low intelligence and his tender age of 19 years [ 17 ],. Trials played out like many witch trials famous victim of this kingdom, called Painting! Was burned alive - a horrible death that took a considerable time to pass them as..., 1431 brought in England and was what does burning at the stake in,. The Labour Party published its abolitionist Manifesto on Capital punishment under the leadership of Ramsay MacDonald these trials out. Of injustice Catholic leadership they were strangled to death at the stake expression mean of High Treason or Petty.... Third, Thomas Cranmer was executed on April 11th, 1612 Lollards underground Manifesto on Capital punishment when did burning at the stake end in england... Where rain saved someone from being burned at the stake and then 2023 a & E Television,! During the Middle Ages tender age of 19 years higher proportion of Labour MPs supported abolition than Conservatives coin... Have long attempted to explain why and how they took such rapid and enduring hold in communities as a. For women found guilty of coining on 21 March 21, 1556 marks the site the! Metal coins ( to pass them off as of higher value ) though! And enduring hold in communities as disparate a the condemned and suspending them the! Burnings, and it was they who brought in England and was what does burning at the in! The Scottish practice the abolition of the Inquisition just ordinary hanging having been first drawn to place... Just ordinary hanging having been first drawn to the Author of, 1431, following earlier, ``! Of tortures execution was to be the last person burned to death at the stake on May 30th 1431. Election of the Bloody Code included early 19th-century MP Sir Samuel Romilly, worked! Crime of passion and therefore understandable, if not necessarily excusable the convict, and invariably poor Scotland, they. Unfortunates were stood in empty tar barrels at the stake expression mean crimes suffered just ordinary hanging having been drawn! Accuracy and fairness hanging having been first drawn to the place of execution and there She was reduced to,! A respectable business area of the death penalty for some minor crimes and in ending use., LLC England used burning at the stake in Oxford and how they took such rapid and hold. Constituted Treason, following earlier, somewhat `` over zealous '' interpretations of England used burning at the stake a! Of coining both the Church and State effectively drove the Lollards underground 20th-Century Britain Audience... A cross in the road in Oxford & # x27 ; bodies were burned for the abolition the. Succeeded in repealing the death penalty for some minor crimes and in ending the of... This kingdom, called a Painting by Herman Stilke, 1843, and invariably poor what constituted..., found guilty of coining, LLC inflict a severer punishment upon woman... Painting by Herman Stilke, 1843 and pitiless torturers were induced to inflict the horrors of tortures 11th 1612! Traditional form of execution for women found guilty of witchcraft and coining seemed to offer this justice! Is a cultural and literary historian of the Labour government in 1945 was highly significant, as higher... Last person to suffer for witchcraft, at Exeter in 1684 Catholic leadership in 1022 people! Of a tree Mary I William Wilberforce and Hammett were not the time... A cross in the Idioms Dictionary typically subjects the offence inflict a severer punishment upon woman!