15-year-old Reginald Cancellor was found dead.... 22 April 1860

[Sepiachord]

15-year-old Reginald Cancellor was found dead in his bedroom on the morning of 22 April 1860~
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastbourne_manslaughter

"The Eastbourne manslaughter was an 1860 legal case in Eastbourne, England, concerning the death of 15-year-old Reginald Cancellor... at the hands of his teacher, Thomas Hopley. Hopley used corporal punishment, apparently with the intention of overcoming what he perceived as stubbornness on Cancellor's part. The boy died from the injuries."

[Atterton]

Is there a further point to this?

[Sepiachord]

It's an example of actual Victorian history and something that became a media event in it's time.

I find this deeply intriguing as well as disturbing.

I thought we were here to share your interests in steampunk.

[Sepiachord]

I think as steampunks we have a moral obligation not to flinch away from the horrors of the past.

As we explore the possibilities that the dreams of the past offer for our current futures so we should be able to explore the nightmares of the past and educate ourselves on how our predecessors face tragedy so that we can face tragedy ourselves and find strength in knowing that when we face sadness we are not alone, that mankind has faced tragedy as we face tragedy.

[Argus Fairbrass]

It seems incredible he only got four years. I assumed the boy died from shock trauma and probably blood loss given the description of his wounds. It sounds like he beat him into unconsciousness after two solid hours.

Even more tragic if he was indeed suffering from Hydrocephalus. My friends niece also has that and it's a condition that it still highly problematic to treat today.

Grim reading indeed, and shameful someone had to die so awfully before limits on corporal punishment were applied.

[Atterton]

I just wondered why you put it up, since you didn't put any comments in the post.

[Sepiachord]

I rarely comment on what I post, I just feel they stand alone

[Essex Bounty]

Wow, very interesting case.  More twists and turns than an Agatha Christie novel.  First you think guilty, then railroaded, then guilty, then railroaded...incredible.