TIL in 1818, an Englishman accused of murder demanded a trial by combat. Surprisingly, the law that allowed for trial by combat was still valid, and the man was acquitted when his accuser declined the

Don_Dickle@lemmy.world · 4 months ago

TIL in 1818, an Englishman accused of murder demanded a trial by combat. Surprisingly, the law that allowed for trial by combat was still valid, and the man was acquitted when his accuser declined the

then_three_more@lemmy.world · 4 months ago

England had the death penalty only abolished for murder in 1969.

So the options would have been, maybe get convicted of something you didn’t do and be hanged, or trial by combat so you have some agency in the whole either death or freedom thing I guess.

TIL in 1818, an Englishman accused of murder demanded a trial by combat. Surprisingly, the law that allowed for trial by combat was still valid, and the man was acquitted when his accuser declined the

TIL in 1818, an Englishman accused of murder demanded a trial by combat. Surprisingly, the law that allowed for trial by combat was still valid, and the man was acquitted when his accuser declined the

Ashford v Thornton - Wikipedia