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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 their chest until a plea was entered, or death resulted.
Peine forte et dure (Law French for "forceful and hard 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 as the weight of the stones on the chest became too great for the condemned to breathe ...
According to the law at the time, a person who refused to plead could not be tried. To avoid people cheating justice, the legal remedy for refusing to plead was "peine forte et dure". In this process, prisoners were stripped naked and heavy boards were laid on their bodies. Then rocks or boulders were placed on the boards.
Often, some form of a plug, or more simply, a piece of fruit, was placed in the victim's mouth and nose beforehand, so they couldn't get a good breath before being dunked. If the victim confessed they would most likely be killed. This method was widely used during the Spanish Inquisition and in England and France.
[5] [2] On 30 June 1598, in line with peine forte et dure, Jane was sentenced to be stripped naked "except for a linen cloth about the lower part of her body", given "the worst bread and water of the prison next her" on alternating days (i.e. she could not drink on the day she ate nor could she eat on the day she drank), and pressed by "stones ...
word, speech (ultimately from Latin parabola, parable) the release of prisoners based on giving their word of honour to abide by certain restrictions. peine forte et dure: strong and harsh punishment torture, in particular to force a defendant to enter a plea. per my et per tout: by half and by the whole
The last exception was peine forte et dure, which could be used on someone who refused to plead guilty or not guilty, which was abolished in 1772. [15] Torture was prohibited in Scotland in 1708 after the Acts of Union 1707. These prohibitions applied only in Britain, not in territories of the British Empire unless explicitly introduced there.
The court proceeded as if the king had pleaded guilty (pro confesso), rather than subjecting Charles to the peine forte et dure, that is, pressing with stones, as was standard practice in case of a refusal to plead. [13] However, witnesses were heard by the judges for "the further and clearer satisfaction of their own judgement and consciences ...