THE CRIMINAL PROSECCUTION AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT OF ANIMALS
Book Details + Condition: William Heinemann (London). First Edition, 1906. Scarce. 384 pages with animal court cases in rear. Hardcover. Blue cloth boards, gilt-lettered on spine. The work examines the legal history of criminal trials and prosecution of animals. Such trials took place in Europe from the 13th century until the 18th centuries. Animals, including insects, faced the possibility of criminal charges for several centuries across many parts of Europe. The earliest extant record of an animal trial is the execution of a pig in 1266 at Fontenay-aux-Roses. Such trials remained part of several legal systems until the 18th century. Animal defendants appeared before both church and secular courts, and the offences alleged against them ranged from murder to criminal damage. Human witnesses were often heard, and in ecclesiastical courts the animals were routinely provided with lawyers. If convicted, it was usual for an animal to be executed or exiled. However, in 1750, a female donkey was acquitted of charges of bestiality due to witnesses to the animal's virtue and good behavior while her co-accused human was sentenced to death. A section of the book deals with the trial and prosecution and re-execution of corpses. The belief held that if an human criminal died before he was convicted in a court of law, they would return as restless ghosts, vampires of werewolves. An overall firm and clean copy of a scarce work, with tight binding; rubbed and lightly bumped corners and edges; light wear to boards; toned endpapers; interior is clean and free of markings.
