Investigation of cases of attempted murder of a spouse in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century (based on materials from the Tver, Yaroslavl and Tobolsk provinces)

The article, based on the materials of court cases of the district courts of the Tobolsk, Tver and Yaroslavl provinces, reflects the law enforcement practice on attempts on the life of a spouse. The study of the peculiarities of the causes and consequences of attempted murder of spouses in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century have not yet become the subject of a separate study. The sample of cases allows us to compare legal proceedings in the central part of the Russian Empire - in the Upper Volga region (in the Tver and Yaroslavl provinces) and on the periphery (in the Tobolsk province). The work examines how attempted murder was punished, what legal norms were applied and what methods existed to reduce sanctions. The article also pays attention to the work of judicial bodies and jurors. An analysis of archival cases shows that since the "Code of Punishments" did not contain a separate article with punishment for an attempt at murder, the article that was most suitable for the act that the accused failed to commit was selected. It was found that attempted murder was not always punished under the article corresponding to the severity of the crime. Thus, an attempt with a weapon that could easily take a person's life with one blow was punishable by a sanction related to beatings. The causes of the crimes were established: for women, it was no love for the husband (hatred, desire to get rid of him), cruel treatment by the spouse, conflicts with his parents; for men, it was drunkenness of the wife (as a reason), cruelty, jealousy, property disputes, dissatisfaction with the wife's parents. It was determined that drunkenness can be considered the main condition for committing a crime because most attempts were committed in a state of alcoholic intoxication. It was shown that mental disorders also became the reason for committing attempts in families, and in some cases the disorder was invented in order to mitigate the punishment. Archived court cases show that women, who suffered more from domestic violence than men, were at the same time subjected to more severe punishments, with the exception of those who had a confirmed mental disorder or when there was no evidence base. Men, as a rule, who committed a crime while intoxicated without prior preparation, were punished quite leniently, even when attempting to murder not a wife, but a common-law wife. The study of this topic is especially relevant at the present time, when drunkenness and its consequences for families, as well as family conflicts ending in murder and attempted murder of a spouse, have not yet been eradicated. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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