Capital Offences - Law Dictionary Search Results
Home Dictionary Name: capital offencesCapital offences
Capital offences, those crimes upon conviction of which the offender is condemned to be hanged. The only crimes now punishable with death are high treason; murder; destruction of H. M. Ships, arsenals, etc. (12 Geo. 3, c. 24); piracy when accompanied by attempted murder [(English) Piracy Act, 1837 (7 Wm. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 88) s. 2]. See PIRACY.Originally all felonies were capital, but early in the 19th century, mainly through the exertions of Sir Samuel Romilly, the severity of the law was mitigated by rapid steps in this respect. Larceny in a dwelling-house up to the value of 40s. was long a capital offence, with the result that juries, to save a prisoner's life, would often falsely find that valuable goods stolen were of the value of 39s.Sentence of death cannot be pronounced on or recorded against a young person under 18. [Children and Young Persons Act, 1933 (23 & 24 Geo. 5, c. 12), s. 53]...
Capital offences (Scotland)
Capital offences (Scotland). The Criminal Pro-cedure (Scotland) Act, 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 35), by s. 56 enacts that 'a capital sentence shall no longer be competent except on conviction of murder or of offences against the Act (10 Geo 4, c. 38), which statute by s. 1 makes it a capital crime either to attempt to discharge any kind of loaded firearms at a person or maliciously to stab with intent to murder or maim, or to administer poison, with intent to murder, disable or do grievous bodily harm, or (by s. 2) to throw any sulphuric acid, etc., with intent to murder or maim....
Age
Age, the criminal responsibility of males and females, and their power to do certain acts, depends upon their age. A child under 7 cannot commit any offence; between the ages of 7 and 14 is presumed to be doli incapax, but this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of the infant's capacity to discern good from evil (malitia supplet 'tatem-malice supplies age). The old rule in criminal matters was that a person of the age of 14 might be capitally punished for any capital offence, but under the age of 7 he could not. A male under the age of 14 years is presumed impotent as well as doli incapax, and since the presumption of impotence cannot be rebutted, R. v. Phillips, 8 C& P 736, he cannot be convicted of an offence involving carnal knowledge, except as a principal in the second degree in a rape, or the like, where if he has a mischievous discretion, the presumption of impotence will not excuse him from aiding and assisting in the commission of the offence. He may, it seems, be convict...
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act, 1887 (English) (50 & 51 Vict.c. 35), abolishes capital sentences except in certain cases, contains numerous forms of indictment, and otherwise simplifies and amends the Criminal Law of Scotland. See CAPITAL OFFENCES (SCOTLAND)....
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, conjuration; sorcery.The practices of a witch, esp. in black magic; sorcery, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 1595.By the Witchcraft Act, 1735 (so styled by the Short Titles act, 1896) (9 Geo. 2, c. 5), 'no prosecution shall be carried on against any person for witchcraft, sorcery, enactments, or conjuration, or for charging another with any such offence in Great Britain'; but it is also enacted that all persons pretending to use any kind of witchcraft, etc., shall upon conviction on indictment suffer one whole year's imprison-ment, and also be obliged to give sureties for good behaviour if the Court thinks fit [R.v. Stephenson, (1904) 68 J.P. 524] See VAGRANT. Prior to this Act witchcraft was a capital offence (see 1 & 2 Jac. 1, c. 12), and a woman and her daughter aged nine years were hanged at Huntingdon for selling their souls to Stan as recently as 1716, this being the last execution in England for witchcraft. Pope Alexander the Sixth nominated a commission against...
Aberemurder
Aberemurder [fr. abere, apparent, notorious and mord, murder, Sax.], plain or downright murder, as distinguished from the less heinous crime of manslaughter or chance medley. It was declared a capital offence, without fine or commutation, by the laws of Canute, c. 93, and of Henry I. c. 13....
Attainder
Attainder [fr. attaindre, Fr. (attainder, O. F.-Roquef.); attingo, Lat., which signifies the apprehension of the object of a chase], the stain or corruption of the blood of a criminal capitally condemned; it is the immediate inseparable consequence, by the Common Law, of sentence of death being pronounced, or of outlawry for a capital offence. the criminal then becomes dead in law, technically called civiliter mortuus. It differs from conviction in that it is after judgment, whereas conviction isupon the verdict of guilty but before judgment pronounced, and may be quashed upon some point of law reserved, or judgment may be arrested. See Co. Litt. 390 b, 391 a.A descendant may now trace descent through an attainted ancestor by virtue of the (English) Inheritance Act, 1833 (3 & 4 Wm. 4, c. 106), s. 10; and by the (English) Forfeiture Act, 1870 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 23), it is now provided that no conviction for treason or felony shall cause attainder or forfeiture. See BILL OF ATTAINDER....
De frangentibus prisonam, Statute of
De frangentibus prisonam, Statute of, 1 Edw. 2, st. 2, which enacts that no person shall have judgment of life or member for breaking prison, unless committed for some capital offence....
Incest
Incest, carnal knowledge of persons within the Levitical degrees of kindred, at one time a capital offence (4 Bl. Com. 65); but subsequently left to the action of the spiritual courts, 4 Steph. Com. It is now within certain relationships, whether legitimate or illegitimate, including a half-brother and half-sister, a misdemeanor, punishable by seven years' penal servitude by virtue of the Punishment of Incest Act, 1908 (8 Edw. 7, c. 45). See R. v. Ball, 1911 AC 47. Sect. 5 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1922, repeals the provision in the Act of 1908 which necessitated the trial of all proceedings under that Act being held in camera (q.v.).Means sexual relations between family members or close relatives, including children related by adoption. Incest was not a crime under English common law but was punished as an ecclesiastical offense. Modern statutes make it a felony, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 764....
Plague
Plague [fr., Gk., a wound], pestilence; a contagious and malignant fever.By 1 Jac. 1, c. 31, it was a capital offence for any infected with the plague, after having been commanded by the mayor or constable, etc., to keep house, to go abroad and in company. This Act was repealed by 7 Wm. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 91, s. 4. See now Public Health Act, 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 55),ss. 134-140; repealed as from October, 1936, and replaced by ss. 143-170, Public Health Act, 1936; and tits. PUBLIC HEALTH; QUARANTINE, post. For an account of the Great Plague in London in 1665, see Pepys's Diary....
- << Prev.
- Next >>
Sign-up to get more results
Unlock complete result pages and premium legal research features.
Start Free Trial