In POTC: At World’s End (2007), a young boy is hanged for piracy. This is historically accurate; 18th century Britain had a capital code that punished children and adults equally. In fact, one of the crimes that had a death sentence was "strong evidence of malice in a child aged 7–14 years of age".

Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by Tokyono
image showing In POTC: At World’s End (2007), a young boy is hanged for piracy. This is historically accurate; 18th century Britain had a capital code that punished children and adults equally. In fact, one of the crimes that had a death sentence was "strong evidence of malice in a child aged 7–14 years of age".

Tokyono on September 27th, 2020 at 10:46 UTC »

Sources:

Perhaps unsurprising, considering the fact that in Britain at the time there were no less than 222 crimes which were defined as capital offenses, including the impersonation of a Chelsea pensioner and damaging Westminster Bridge. Moreover, the law did not distinguish between adults and children, and ‘strong evidence of malice in a child of 7 to 14 years of age’ was also a hanging matter.

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Art-of-Hanging/

Sir Samuel Romilly, speaking to the House of Commons on capital punishment in 1810, declared that "[there is] no country on the face of the earth in which there [have] been so many different offences according to law to be punished with death as in England".[2] Known as the "Bloody Code", at its height the criminal law included some 220 crimes punishable by death, including "being in the company of Gypsies for one month", "strong evidence of malice in a child aged 7–14 years of age" and "blacking the face or using a disguise whilst committing a crime". Many of these offences had been introduced by the Whig Oligarchy to protect the property of the wealthy classes that emerged during the first half of the 18th century, a notable example being the Black Act of 1723, which created 50 capital offences for various acts of theft and poaching.[3] Crimes eligible for the death penalty included shoplifting and stealing sheep, cattle, and horses, and before abolition of the death penalty for theft in 1832, "English law was notorious for prescribing the death penalty for a vast range of offences as slight as the theft of goods valued at twelve pence."[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_Kingdom

List of executed children.

http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/child.html

Probably the youngest child executed in England was John Dean who was convicted of arson at the Abingdon Assizes on the 23rd of February 1629. His age is given in “The Annals of Windsor” as between eight and nine years and he had set fire to two houses in Windsor. It would appear that the judge, Mr. Justice Whitelock, found evidence of malice, revenge and cunning and therefore did not recommend a reprieve for the boy.

madeyegroovy on September 27th, 2020 at 12:08 UTC »

Loved this opening scene. (Cause of the song, not the kid being hanged 😕)

enormuschwanzstucker on September 27th, 2020 at 13:26 UTC »

Think back to second grade. We all knew at least one kid that probably would’ve gone to the gallows if his punk ass had lived in the 18th century.