Recidivism was explicitly punished under the Ancien Régime
Evidence
Contrary to what Carnot or Helie and Chauveau say, recidivism was very clearly punished in a number of laws under the Ancien Régime. The ordinance of 1549 declares that the malefactor who repeats his crime is an ‘execrable, infamous being, eminently pernicious to the commonwealth’; recidivism for blasphemy, theft, vagabondage, etc., were subject to special penalties. — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 492
Categorization
- QUESTION: This corrects a common historiographical assumption—worth chasing why later authors like Carnot denied it.
- XREF: connects to: Routinized supplementary torture accompanied nearly all serious penalties — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 82; Pre-revolutionary French imprisonment was tainted by its ties to arbitrary royal power — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 193