|
''フランス語:Peine forte et dure'' (Law French for "hard and forceful punishment") was a method of torture formerly used in the common law legal system, in which a defendant who refused to plead ("stood mute") would be subjected to having heavier and heavier stones placed upon his or her chest until a plea was entered, or the defendant died. ==Legal background== The common law courts originally took a very limited view of their own jurisdiction. They considered themselves to lack jurisdiction over a defendant until he had voluntarily submitted to it by entering a plea seeking judgment from the court.〔Sir Frederick Pollock and Frederic William Maitland, ''The History of English Law'', v. 2, pp. 650–651 (Cambridge; 1968; ISBN 0-521-07062-7)〕 Obviously, a criminal justice system that punished only those who volunteered for punishment was unworkable; this was the means chosen to coerce them.〔See generally, William Blackstone, ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'' (1769), vol. 4, pp. *319-324〕 Alternatively, individuals were frequently tried under the law of the sea as observed by Bracton. In the "Standing Mute Act 1275", part of Statute of Westminster of 1275 of Edward I of England it states: It appears to have initially meant imprisonment under harsh conditions: By the reign of Elizabeth I it took the form of "pressing" the accused with weights.〔 The procedure was recorded by a 15th-century witness as follows: "Pressing to death" might take several days, and not necessarily with a continued increase in the load. The Frenchman Guy Miege, who from 1668 taught languages in London〔(The enterprising and tenacious Guy Miège: four dictionaries from 1677 to 1688 )〕 says the following about the English practice:〔Miege, G.:"(The present state of Great-Britain and Ireland )" London 1715, p.294〕 Many defendants charged with capital offences nonetheless refused to plead, since thereby they would escape forfeiture of property, and their heirs would still inherit their estate; but if the defendant pleaded either guilty or not guilty and was executed, their heirs would inherit nothing, their property escheating to the Crown. ''フランス語:Peine forte et dure'' was abolished in the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1772, with the last known actual use of the practice having been in 1741.〔(Drug Control and Asset Seizures: a review of the history of forfeiture in England and colonial America )〕 From 1772 refusing to plead was deemed to be equivalent to pleading guilty, but this was changed in 1827 to being deemed a plea of not guilty – which is now the case in all common law jurisdictions. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Peine forte et dure」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|