The judgment of death in the case of treason is that the offender, if a male, be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, and be there hanged by the neck until dead ; and that afterwards the head be severed from the body of such offender, and the body be divided into four quarters, to be disposed of as her Majesty shall think fit (54 Geo. III. c. 146); and, if a female, that the offender be drawn to the place of execution and be there hanged by the neck until dead (30 Geo. 111.
C. 48, s. 1). The queen, however, may, by warrant under her sign manual, countersigned by a principal secretary of state, direct, where the offender is a male, that he shall not be drawn, but taken in such manner as in the warrant shall be expressed to the place of execution, and that he shall not be hanged, but be beheaded, whilst alive, instead (54 Geo. III. c. 146, s. 2).
2. Pramunires.—The penalties of prxmunire, as shortly summed up by Sir Edward Coke (1 ' Inst,' 130 a.), are," that from the conviction the defendant shall be out of the king's protection, and his lands and tenements" (that is, in fee-simple or for life, but not in tail beyond his life interest therein), "goods and chattels, forfeited to the king : and that his body shall remain in prison at the king's pleasure, or. as other authorities have it, during life." These penalties were first imposed by the stet. 16 Rich. If. c. 5 (commonly called the Statute of Pr.emunire) ; and it is by reference to that statute that all subsequent prtemunires have been made punishable. It was formerly supposed that a person convicted of prsinmaire, being put out of the king s pro tection, might be killed with impunity, as being the king's enemy; but by the 5 Eliz. c. 1, es. 21 and 22, it was enacted that it should not be lawful to kill any person attainted in a prwmunire, saving such pains of death or other hurt or punishment as theretofore might, without danger of law, be done upon persons sending or bringing into the realm, &c., any process, &c., from the See of Rome. The statute of Elizabeth was, however, repealed by the 9 & 10 Viet c. 59. Prtemunires although they occasion a forfeiture of the offender's lands and goods, are not felonies. To constitute a felony the offence must have worked a for feiture at the common Law ; but in the case of praemnnire the forfeiture is made a part of the punishment by statute merely, which is not suffi cient. (4 Black. Comm.,' pp. 94 and 118.) 3. Felenies.—All felonies, as stated above, were originally, with one or two exceptions, punishable with death; but the offender, unless the felony was excluded from the benefit of clergy, was entitled for a first offence, to be discharged from the capital punishment upon praying that benefit [BENEFIT OF CLERGY.] But now, since the passing of the 7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 28, no felony is punishable with death unless it was excluded from thsi benefit of clergy before or on the 14 Nov. 1826, or has been or shall be made punishable with death by some statute passed since that day. Where not capital, felonies are punishable either in the manner prescribed by the statute or statutes specially relating to such felonies, or, where no punishment has been or may hereafter be specially provided, with penal servitude for seven years, or imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years, with the addition, if the court shall think fit, of whipping, where the offender is a male, ;lard labour and solitary confinement, or any of thepi. (7 & 8 Geo. IV. c. 28, as. 7 and 8.) Such confinement must not, however, be for a longer period than one month at a time, or three months in a year. (7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 90, s. 5.) In the case of all felonies, whether capital or not, the offender immediately on conriction forfeits to the crown all the personal estate of every description, whether in action or possession, or settled by way of trust, which he has otherwise than as an executor (` Cro. Car.' 566), or a trustee or mortgagee (13 &
14 Vict. c. 60), at the time of conviction (Bac. Abrid.,' Forfeiture" (B) ; Co: Litt. 391 a) ; and in the case of all capital felonies, upon attainder by judgment of death or outlawry, forfeits to the crown the profits of all estates of freehold (4 Black.' Comm.,' 385), and of things not lying in tenure (Bac. Abrid.; "Forfeiture" (A) ), and to the lord of the manor the profits of all estates of copyhold (Hawk. P. C.' b. 2, c. 49, s. 7 ; Lord Cornwallis's case, 2 Vent. 38-9), which the offender has otherwise than as n trustee or mortgagee (13 & 14 Vict. c. 60), at the time of the offence committed, during his life ; and his blood is corrupted (but not so as to obstruct descents to the posterity of such offender where they are obliged to derive a title through him to a remoter ancestor (3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 106, s. 10), and after his death his copyholds which he holds in fee-simple are forfeited to the lord of the manor. (Striven ' On Copyholcls; 523, note (d).) And also in the case of murder, all his freehold lands and tenements in fee-simple escheat (subject to what is called the crown's year, day and waste) to the lord of the foe. (54 Geo. HI. c. 145; Co.-Litt. 391 a; 4 Black. ' Comm.' 385.) The Court of Chancery may appoint a new trustee in the place of a trustee convicted of felony, and may make an order vesting the estate in the new trustee. (15 & 16 Vict. c. 55, s. 8.) The judgment of death in the case of all capital felonies, except murder, is that the offender be hanged by the neck until dead (2 Hale's P. C.' 411) ; and, in the case of murder, it is the same, with the addition that the offender's body shall be buried within the precincts of the prison in which he shall have been confined after conviction. (2 & 3 Will. IV. c. 75, s. 16 ; 4 & 5 Will. IV. c. 26.) The court how ever is empowered, if it shall think that the offender is a fit subject to be recommended to the royal mercy, to abstain from pronouncing judgment of death upon him, and to order such judgment to be entered of record instead ; and the judgment so recorded has the same effect as if pronounced and the party were reprieved. (4 Geo. IV. c. 43, as. 1 and 2; 6 & 7 Will. IV. c. 30, s. 2.)* The following felonies are still punishable with death : 1. Destroying ships of war or her majesty's arsenals, dock-yards, naval, military or victualling stores, or other ammunition of war, &c. (12 Geo. Ill. c. 24, s. 1.) 2. Murder. (9 Geo. IV. c. 31, s. 3.) 3. Unnatural offences. (9 Geo. 1V. c. 31, s. 15.) 4. Attempts to murder by administering poison, or by wounding, or by any other means where bodily injury dangerous to life is caused. (7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 85, s. 2.) 5. Burglary, aggravated by striking an inmate. (7 Wm. IV. & I Viet. c. 86, a. 2.) 6. Robbery, aggravated by wounding the person robbed. (7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 87, s. 2.) 7. Piracy, aggravated by endangering the life of any person on board of the vessel in respect of which the piracy is committed. (7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 88, s. 4.) 8. Setting fire to a dwelling-house, any person being therein. (7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 89, s. 2.) 9. Destroying vessels with intent to murder, or whereby human life is endangered. (7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 89, s. 4.) 10. Exhibiting false lights, &c. with intent to bring ships into danger, or unlawfully doing anything tending to the destruction of ships in distress. (7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 89, s. 5.) Besides the above offences, that of wilfully and without lawful excuse having or being possessed of any forged stamp used in pursu ance of any Act relating to any duties on gold or silver plate made or wrought in Great Britain, for the purpose of marking or stamping such plate, appears to be still punishable with death.