Victoria as Bait!

HM Queen Victoria of England wasn't always popular. She survived eight assassination attempts. On one such occasion on May 29th, 1842 a man stepped out in front of Victoria's carriage and aimed a pistol at her. His gun was poorly charged and the attempt failed. No harm came to Victoria, but her would be assassin escaped.

Victoria's Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, offered his suggestion. Lure the man out by riding down the same path at the same time and see if he tries again. Surprisingly enough Victoria agreed. The plan worked. Undercover policemen apprehended John Francis as he was getting ready to step out of the crowd. He was arrested and exiled to Australia (initially Victoria wanted him hanged).

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Some people close to the queen was afraid that this lighter sentence would encourage other would-be-assassins to try their hand at it and that a harsher punishment was required to deter them. Prince Albert came up with the Treason Act of 1842 where a man, if convicted, would be flogged and serve up to seven years in jail. Though, a few men did serve jail time, not one was ever flogged.