Francesco Carrara (September 18, 1805 - January 15, 1888) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

and liberal politician who was one of the leading

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

European scholars and death penalty abolition lawyers of the 19th century.

Biography

After having received a

doctorate degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

at the

University of Lucca The University of Lucca was an Italian university located in Lucca (LU), Italy, established in 1785 by the government of the Republic of Lucca. The university disappearing for good in 1867. There had previously been several attempts in the medie ...

, Carrara practiced law in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

, where he was soon engaged in debates about criminal law reform. In 1848, he was appointed to the chair of criminal law at the

, and in 1859 at

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

. His principal work, written there, was the ten-volume ''Programma dal corso di diritto criminale''. Synthesising Italian thought in criminal law since

Beccaria Beccaria is an Italian surname and place name. People * Alessandro Beccaria (born 1988), Italian footballer * Angelo Beccaria (1820–1897), was an Italian landscape painter * Battista Beccario (15th-century), Genoese cartographer * Cesare Beccar ...

, it also had significant influence abroad. As a young politician, Carrara at first followed

Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

, but came closer to more moderate liberal groups in the 1840s. He helped arrange the accession of Lucca to

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, as he regarded it as a first small step towards national unity. Additionally, he had been totally disgusted from the five sentences to death by

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...

which

Charles II, Duke of Parma Charles Louis ( it, Carlo Ludovico; 22 December 1799 – 16 April 1883) was King of Etruria (1803–1807; reigned as Louis II), Duke of Lucca (1824–1847; reigned as Charles I), and Duke of Parma (1847–1849; reigned as Charles II). He was the ...

had allowed in 1845. Not by chance, just to solemnize the annexation of Lucca,

Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II( it, Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Francesco Ferdinando Carlo, german: Leopold Johann Joseph Franz Ferdinand Karl, English: ''Leopold John Joseph Francis Ferdinand Charles''. (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870) was Grand Duke of Tusc ...

abolished the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in his state, as suggested for by Carrara and by some other jurists. After

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, Carrara was elected to Parliament in 1863, 1865 and 1867. There, he was an influential member of the commission preparing the Criminal Code of Italy, the "

Zanardelli Code The Italian Penal Code of 1889, commonly known as the Zanardelli Code ( it, Codice Zanardelli), was the penal code in effect in the Kingdom of Italy from 1890 to 1930, and it is still in effect in Vatican City. The Zanardelli code gets its name ...

" completed in 1889. Named a senator in 1879, Carrara died at Lucca, where many of his manuscripts remain.

References

;Sources *

External links

Obituary
at the University of Pisa website {{DEFAULTSORT:Carrara, Francesco Italian politicians 1805 births 1888 deaths Anti–death penalty activists 19th-century Italian jurists