Felo de se
Felo de se, Latin for "felon of himself", is an archaic legal term meaning suicide. In early English common law, an adult who committed suicide was literally a felon, and the crime was punishable by forfeiture of property to the king and what was considered a shameful burial – typically with a stake through his heart and with a burial at a crossroad. Burials for felo de se typically took place at night, with no mourners or clergy present, and the location was often kept a secret by the authorities.[1] A child or mentally incompetent person, however, who killed himself was not considered a felo de se and was not punished post-mortem for his actions. The term is not commonly used in modern legal practice.
"Felo de se" is also employed as the title of poems by fin de siècle poet Amy Levy and Georgian poet Richard Hughes. It is also the title of a book by R. Austin Freeman.
The laws relating to felo de se also applied to someone who was killed, or who died by other causes whilst they were committing a crime or other malicious act - e.g. a burglar who was killed by a householder defending his own property.
As to England and Wales, see the Suicide Act 1961. And see formerly the Interments (felo de se) Act 1882.
[edit] Documented incidents of Felo de se
- 1854, Joseph Zillwood, Lyttelton, New Zealand.[2]
[edit] Notes
- Hawkins, W. Treatise of Pleas of the Crown. Volume 1. Chapter 9.
- ^ Macdonald, M. "The Secularization of Suicide in England, 1660-1800", Past and Present #111, (May, 1986), pp. 50-100.
- ^ "Papers Past — Lyttelton Times — 25 October 1854 — LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2012 [last update]. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=LT18541025.2.9. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
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