Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776: June 2011 (Sixth) EditionReilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776: June 2011 (Sixth) Edition
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
Only those imprisoned for the smaller offenses of a single incidence of
petty larceny, receipt of felons, or accessory to a felony, or some
other trespass not punishable by life or limb shall be let out by
sufficient surety. Prisoners who were outlawed or escaped from prison or
are notorious thieves or were imprisoned for felonious house burning,
passing false money, counterfeiting the King's seal, treason touching
the king himself, or other major offenses or have been excommunicated by
the church may not be released.
Killing in self-defense and by mischance shall be pardoned from the
King's indictment. Killing by a child or a person of unsound mind shall
be pardoned from the King's indictment. (But a private accuser can still
sue.)
Any man who ravishes [abducts] any woman without her consent or by
force shall have the criminal penalty of loss of life or limb. (The
criminal penalty used to be just two years in prison.)
Trespasses in parks or ponds shall be punished by imprisonment for
three years and a fine as well as paying damages to the wronged person.
After his imprisonment, he shall find a surety or leave the nation.
"Forasmuch as there have been often times found in the country devisors
of tales, where discord, or occasion of discord, has many times arisen
between the King and his people, or great men of this realm; For the
damage that has and may thereof ensue, it is commanded, that from
henceforth none be so hardy to tell or publish any false news or tales,
whereby discord or occasion of discord or slander may grow between the
King and his people, or the great men of the realm." Anyone doing so
shall be imprisoned until he brings into the court the first author of
the tale.
A system of registration and enforcement of commercial agreements was
established by statute. Merchants could obtain a writing of a debt
sealed by the debtor and authenticated by royal seal or a seal of a
mayor of certain towns, and kept by the creditor. Failure to pay a such
a debt was punishable by imprisonment and, after three months, the
selling of borough tenements and chattels and of county lands. During
the three months, the merchant held this property in a new tenure of
"statute merchant". (Prior to this, it was difficult for a foreign
merchant to collect a debt because he could not appear in court which
did not recognize him as one of its proper "suitors" or constituents, so
he had to trust a local attorney. Also, the remedy was inadequate
because the history of the law of debt was based on debt as a substitute
for the blood feud, so that failure to pay meant slavery or death. Also
a debtor's land was protected by feudal custom, which was contrary to
the idea of imposing a new tenant on a lord.)
"In no city, borough, town, market, or fair shall a person of the realm
be distrained for a debt for which he is not the debtor or pledge."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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