Deodand

Deodand in United Kingdom

History

Deodand (Lat. Deo dandum, that which is to be given to God), in English law, was a personal chattel (any animal or thing) which, on account of its having caused the death of a human being, was forfeited to the king for pious uses. Blackstone, while tracing in the custom an expiatory design, alludes to analogous Jewish and Greek laws (compare also the rule of the Twelve Tables, by which an animal which had inflicted mischief might be surrendered in lieu of compensation), which required that what occasions a man’s death should be destroyed. In such usages the notion of the punishment of an animal or thing, or of its being morally affected from having caused the death of a man, seems to be implied. The forfeiture of the offending instrument in no way depends on the guilt of the owner. This imputation of guilt to inanimate objects or to the lower animals is not inconsistent with what we know of the ideas of uncivilized races.

In English law, deodands came to be regarded as mere forfeitures to the king, and the rules on which they depended were not easily explained by any key in the possession of the old commentators. The law distinguished, for instance, between a thing in motion and a thing standing still. If a horse or other animal in motion killed a person, whether infant or adult, or if a cart ran over him, it was forfeited as a deodand. On the other hand, if death were caused by falling from a cart or a horse at rest, the law made the chattel a deodand if the person killed were an adult, but not if he were below the years of discretion. Blackstone accounts for the greater severity against things in motion by saying that in such cases the owner is more usually at fault, an explanation which is doubtful in point of fact, and would certainly not account for other instances of the same tendency. Thus, where a man’s death is caused by a thing not in motion, that part only which is the immediate cause is forfeited, as “if a man be climbing up the wheel of a cart, and is killed by falling from it, the wheel alone is a deodand”; whereas, if the cart were in motion, not only the wheel but all that moves along with it (as the cart and the loading) are forfeited. A similar distinction is to be found in Britton.

Where a man is killed by a vessel at rest the cargo is not deodand; where the vessel is under sail, hull and cargo are both deodand. For the distinction between the death of a child and the death of an adult Blackstone accounts by suggesting that the child “was presumed incapable of actual sin, and therefore needed no deodand to purchase propitiatory masses; but every adult who died in actual sin stood in need of such atonement, according to the humane superstition of the founders of the English law.” Sir Matthew Hale’s explanation was that the child could not take care of himself, whereon Blackstone asks why the owner should save his forfeiture on account of the imbecility of the child, which ought to have been an additional reason for caution.

The finding of a jury was necessary to constitute a deodand, and the investigation of the value of the instrument by which death was caused occupied an important place among the provisions of early English criminal law. It became a necessary part of an indictment to state the nature and value of the weapon employed—as, that the stroke was given by a certain penknife, of the value of sixpence—so that the king might have his deodand. Accidents on the high seas did not cause forfeiture, being beyond the domain of the common law; but it would appear that in the case of ships in fresh water the law held good. The king might grant his right to deodands to another. In later times these forfeitures became extremely unpopular; and juries, with the connivance of judges, found deodands of trifling value, so as to defeat the inequitable claim. At last, by an act of 1846 they were abolished, the date noticeably coinciding with the introduction of railways and modern steam-engines. (1)

Meaning of Deodand

The following is an old definition of Deodand [1]: Any personal chattel which was the immediate cause of the death of a rational creature. The chattel, whether an animal or inanimate object, was forfeited to the king, to be applied to religious uses. Designed, originally, as an expiation for the souls of such persons as were snatched away by sudden death. If any animal killed a person, or if a cart ran over him, it was to be forfeited,- in part, also, as punishment for the supposed negligence in the owner. If the thing was in motion, as, a cart with its loading, all that moved was forfeited; if not in motion, then only the part which was the immediate cause of the death. It mattered not whether the owner was concerned in the killing or not. The right to deodands, in time, was granted to the lords of manors as a franchise. Abolished by 9 and 10 Vict. (1846) c. 62.

Resources

Notes and References

  1. Concept of Deodand provided by the Anderson Dictionary of Law (1889) (Dictionary of Law consisting of Judicial Definitions and Explanations of Words, Phrases and Maxims and an Exposition of the Principles of Law: Comprising a Dictionary and Compendium of American and English Jurisprudence; William C. Anderson; T. H. Flood and Company, Law Publishers, Chicago, United States)

Resources

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia Britannica (11th Edition)

See Also

Further Reading

English Law: Deodand in the Past

This word is derived from Deo dandum, to be given to God; and is used to name the instrument, whether it be an animal or inanimate thing, which has caused the death of a man. 3 Inst. 57; Hawk. bk. 1, c. 8.

Developments

The deodand is forfeited to the king and was formerly applied to pious uses. But the presentment of a deodand by a grand jury, under their general charge from the judge of assize, is void. 1 Burr. Rep. 17. [1][rtbs name=”history-of-english-law”]

Resources

Notes and References

  1. Partialy, this information about deodand is based on the Bouvier´s Law Dictionary, 1848 edition. There is a list of terms of the Bouvier´s Law Dictionary, including deodand.

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