To understand how such an inhuman institution as that of pressing prisoners to death came into existence, it is necessary to understand somewhat the history of criminal proceedings of the period when it obtained. The motive which would induce the prisoner charged with felony to submit to this terrible punishment, rather than enter his plea, was no doubt to escape the attainder which would result from a conviction for felony. If he was convicted of felony, his goods were forfeited to the crown and in the case of capital felony, corruption of blood followed attainder and the felon could neither inherit nor transmit landed property.[4] Where the prisoner had heirs, therefore, and possessed any estate, his attachment and affection for his heirs or children frequently prompted him to suffer the punishment of being pressed to death, to avoid the attainder of his name and the corruption of his blood, for death and attainder would both result from the conviction, which was frequently certain to result, in any event. Trial by ordeal obtained in England until the thirteenth century,[5] and as a part of the procedure obtaining when this barbarous custom prevailed the prisoner when asked “Culprit, how will you be tried,” replied, “By God,” meaning that he would be tried by ordeal, rather than “By my country,” which was the request for a jury trial. When the prisoner stood mute and refused to plead, the court was so perplexed that frequently the prisoner would escape by some trivial punishment, as the procedure of the period did not include this kind of a case, so the astute criminal lawyers of these times no doubt frequently practiced this subterfuge to perplex the court and secure the escape of a guilty client. Legal forms at this period had much greater efficacy than at present when we have statutes of jeofails and look to the substance, rather than the forms of things, and it was unheard of then to try a prisoner by ordeal, before he entered his plea, or even to put him upon his country, so where he stood mute, the difficult thing was to secure his consent to try him by either method. Under the stress of the perplexity of having found concrete cases not covered by the custom and practice of the period, the judges instantly ordered some of the offenders standing mute on malice, to be put to death, for refusing to consent to be tried, according to the custom of the realm, but this was practically judicial murder, as the defendant had not been legally convicted, before sentence, so the pendulum of public sentiment swung back from this precedent and brought about a great revulsion to this practice. In the beginning of the thirteenth century the penalty for refusing to plead consisted merely of a severe punishment, with low diet, until the obstinacy was overcome, and latterly, the practice prevailed, which had no legal sanction, of tying the thumbs together, with whipcord, that the pain might induce the prisoner to plead.