La represión de los delitos atroces en el derecho castellano de la edad moderna

Abstract

The aphorismin atrocissimis leviores conjec­turae sufficiunt, et licet iudici iura transgrendi, allowed in the Castilian Law some speciali­ties in the proceedings and in the penalty in order to contain the hugest crimes. As far as the monarchy was taken the ius puniendi upon itself, increased particularies laws to modify the usual treatment of these crimes, and in the practice also the judges maked used of many exceptions to contain them. The crimi­nal who commited an atrocious crime hadn't the same warranties in law than the others. He could be found guilty by just guesswork and circumstancial evidences, and he was punished with a very hard punishment, that was executed publicy and could get at his descendent or relatives. In this way, the mon­archy managed to scare the common people, hiding its owns institution's ineffectiveness to exercise a more certain, infalible and continu­ous power.