Murder. the year aforesaid, he the said B., of the poison aforesaid, so drank and swallowed down as aforesaid, and of the said sickness 9 Geo. 4, c. 31. and distemper thereby occasioned, did die; and so the jurors aforesaid, &c. that he the said A. him the said B. did poison, kill and murder, against the peace of our said lord the King, his crown and dignity. Evidence. Having proved the death of the poisoned person, and the prisoner's connection with the offence, you must show that the poison was actually taken. Where a woman spat out a piece of poisoned cake without swallowing any part of it, the judge held the conviction improper. Carrington's Cr. Law, 237, Rex v. Cadman. The prisoner's guilty knowledge must also be satisfactorily substantiated. Indictment for Murder by Starving. Indictment for the Murder of a Bastard Child. Wiltshire, The jurors for our lord the King upon their * You must be particular as to the sex. Evidence. Here it is necessary to show the sex of the child murdered, and that the prisoner did the act. The body of the infant must be found (unless there be a confession, and even then the case would be weak,) and the jury must be satisfied that it was born alive. If the prisoner be proved to have committed the offence, any evidence of malice is of course out of the question; but it may be shown on the prisoner's behalf, that she was incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong at the time Murder. 9 Geo. 4, c. 31. Indictment against a Prisoner for being accessory in one County to a Murder committed in another. Hertfordshire, to wit. The jurors, &c. [state the commission of the murder, as in ordinary cases, and that it was done in the county of· &c.] and that one C., late of the parish of in the county of labourer, before the felony and murder aforesaid by the aforesaid A. in manner and form aforesaid done and committed, that is to say, on the first day of May in the year the aforesaid A., at the aforesaid parish of in the county of aforesaid, to do and commit the felony and murder aforesaid, in manner and form aforesaid, maliciously, feloniously and wantonly, and of his malice aforethought, did stir up, move, abet, counsel and favour, against the peace of our said lord the King, his crown and dignity. Evidence. There must be evidence of a murder, and that it was committed upon the deceased person mentioned in the indictment, and then the counselling and abetting, as done by the prisoner will follow of course. However, according to the new act, accessories either before or after the fact, may be indicted in the county where the stroke or death happened. See tit. TRIAL; and with respect to Murderous Intents, see tit, SHOOTING, WOMEN. Murder. 9 Geo. 4, c. 31' Period of execution and marks of infamy. Execution of Murderers. LORD LANSDOWNE'S ACT. 9 Geo. 4, c. 31. Sect. IV. And be it enacted, That every person convicted of murder shall be executed according to law on the day next but one after that on which the sentence shall be passed, unless the same shall happen to be Sunday, and in that case on the Monday following; and the body of every murderer Sentence to be shall, after execution, either be dissected or hung in chains, as pronounced im- to the court shall seem meet; and sentence shall be promediately. nounced immediately after the conviction of every murderer, unless the court shall see reasonable cause for postponing the same; and such sentence shall express not only the usual judgment of death, but also the time hereby appointed for the execution thereof, and that the body of the offender shall be dissected or hung in chains, whichsoever of the two the court Power to respite. shall order: Provided always, that after such sentence shall have been pronounced, it shall be lawful for the court or judge to stay the execution thereof, if such court or judge shall so think fit. 9 Geo. 4, c. 31. As to the dissection of the bodies of murderers. Dissection of Murderers. 9 Geo. 4, c. 31. Sect. V. And be it enacted, That whenever dissection shall be ordered by such sentence, the body of the murderer, if executed in the county of Middlesex or city of London, shall be immediately conveyed by the sheriff or sheriffs, or his or their officers, to the hall of the surgeons' company, or to such other place as the said company shall appoint, and shall be delivered to such person as the said company shall appoint, for the purpose of being dissected; and the body of the murderer, if executed elsewhere, shall in like manner be delivered to such surgeon as the court or judge shall direct, for the same purpose. Note.-A woman convicted of murder was pardoned on condition of transportation, because the judge omitted, in his sentence, to direct the prisoner to be dissected. Russ. & R. C. C. R. 50, Rex v. Fletcher. But the sentence may be corrected or altered at any time during the assizes. Prison Regulations as to Murderers. 9 Geo. 4, c. 31. Murder. 9 Geo. 4, c. 31. 9 Geo. 4, c. 31. sentence. Sect. VI. And be it enacted, That every person convicted Prison regulaof murder shall, after judgment, be confined in some safe place tions as to murwithin the prison, apart from all other prisoners, and shall be derers under fed with bread and water only, and with no other food or liquor, except in case of receiving the sacrament, or in case of any sickness or wound, in which case the surgeon of the prison may order other necessaries to be administered; and no person but the gaoler and his servants, and the chaplain and surgeon of the prison, shall have access to any such convict, without the permission in writing of the court or judge before whom such convict shall have been tried, or of the sheriff or his deputy Provided always, that in case the court or judge shall think fit to respite the execution of such convict, such court or judge may, by a licence in writing, relax, during the period of the respite, all or any of the restraints or regulations herein before directed to be observed. : NOT GUILTY, PLEA OF. 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 28. Not Guilty, 7 & 8 G. 4, c. 28. not Part of Sect. I. .... That if any person, not having A plea of " privilege of peerage, being arraigned upon any indictment for guilty," without treason, felony or piracy, shall plead thereto a plea of "not guilty," he shall by such plea, without any further form, be deemed to have put himself upon the country for trial; and the court shall, in the usual manner, order a jury for the trial of such person accordingly. more, shall put the prisoner on his trial by jury. Sect. II. And be it enacted, That if any person, being ar- If he refuses to raigned upon or charged with any indictment or information plead, court may Not Guilty, 7 & 8 G.4, c. 28. order a plea of "not guilty" to be entered. for treason, felony, piracy or misdemeanor, shall stand mute of malice, or will not answer directly to the indictment or information, in every such case it shall be lawful for the court, if it shall so think fit, to order the proper officer to enter a plea of "not guilty," on behalf of such person; and the plea so entered shall have the same force and effect as if such person had actually pleaded the same. Note. The severe punishment of the peine forte et dure being abolished, and the trial by ordeal having fallen into entire disuse, many prisoners became, either through obstinacy or cunning, very troublesome, by standing quite mute, saying that they would be tried by God only, and, in effect, refusing to put themselves upon the country. And therefore it was, that by recent enactments a person so obstinately refusing was declared to be convicted of the felony charged. See 7 Geo. 4, c. 64, s. 7 & 8. The present provisions go a step further, as the court is enabled, at discretion, to take the opinion of a jury upon the prisoner's guilt where he stands mute, and where he pleads "not guilty," to proceed, without other forms, upon his trial. See FELONY. Officers. OFFICERS. See ASSAULTS. Ordinatio Pro ORDINATIO PRO CLERO. The 25 Edw. 3, st. 6, (vulgo st. 3), c. 4, 5, repealed by 7 Geo. 4, c. 64. Overseers. 7 Geo. 4, c. 64. Property or OVERSEERS. CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT. 7 Geo. 4, c. 64. Sect. XVI. And, with respect to the property of parishes, dered for the use townships, and hamlets, be it enacted, That in any indictment of the poor of or information for any felony or misdemeanor committed in, |