Pleading the belly
Encyclopedia
Pleading the belly was a process available at English common law
, which permitted women pregnant with late stage fetus
es to receive a reprieve of their death sentence
s until delivery. The plea was available at least as early as 1387 and was eventually rendered obsolete by the Sentence of Death (Expectant Mothers) Act of 1931.
The plea did not constitute a defense, and could only be made after a verdict of guilty was delivered. Upon making the plea, the convict was entitled to be examined by a jury of matrons
, generally selected from the observers present at the trial. If she was found to be pregnant with a quick child (that is, a fetus sufficiently developed to render its movement detectable) the convict was granted a reprieve of sentence until the next hanging time after her delivery.
Scholarly reviews of the Old Bailey
Sessions Papers and Assize records from the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I
have shown that women granted such reprieves were often subsequently granted pardons or had their sentences commuted to transportation
. Even those women who were subsequently executed pursuant to their original sentences were often executed behind schedule.
The famous female pirates Anne Bonny
and Mary Read
both used this plea to delay execution although Read died of fever in prison. (Bonny's fate is unclear.)
It appears that women were often fraudulently or erroneously found to be quick with child. Daniel Defoe
’s Moll Flanders
includes a character who successfully pled her belly despite being “no more with child than the judge that tried [her].” John Gay
’s The Beggar's Opera
includes a scene where the character Filch picks up income working as a “child getter … helping the ladies to a pregnancy against their being called down to sentence”.
As a check against this abuse of the system, the law held that no women could be granted a second reprieve from the original sentence on the ground of subsequent pregnancy, even if the fetus had quickened. In the event that a female prisoner became pregnant, her gaoler or the local sheriff was subject to a fine.
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, which permitted women pregnant with late stage fetus
Fetus
A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
es to receive a reprieve of their death sentence
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
s until delivery. The plea was available at least as early as 1387 and was eventually rendered obsolete by the Sentence of Death (Expectant Mothers) Act of 1931.
The plea did not constitute a defense, and could only be made after a verdict of guilty was delivered. Upon making the plea, the convict was entitled to be examined by a jury of matrons
Jury of Matrons
The jury of matrons was a form of special jury at English common law, usually used to resolve legal disputes over whether or not a party to a legal action was pregnant.- Civil juries :...
, generally selected from the observers present at the trial. If she was found to be pregnant with a quick child (that is, a fetus sufficiently developed to render its movement detectable) the convict was granted a reprieve of sentence until the next hanging time after her delivery.
Scholarly reviews of the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
Sessions Papers and Assize records from the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
have shown that women granted such reprieves were often subsequently granted pardons or had their sentences commuted to transportation
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
. Even those women who were subsequently executed pursuant to their original sentences were often executed behind schedule.
The famous female pirates Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny was an Irish woman who became a famous female pirate, operating in the Caribbean. What little is known of her life comes largely from A General History of the Pyrates.-Historical record:...
and Mary Read
Mary Read
Mary Read was an English pirate. She is chiefly remembered as one of only two women known to have been convicted of piracy during the early 18th century, at the height of the Golden Age of Piracy....
both used this plea to delay execution although Read died of fever in prison. (Bonny's fate is unclear.)
It appears that women were often fraudulently or erroneously found to be quick with child. Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
’s Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1722, after his work as a journalist and pamphleteer. By 1722, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, with the success of Robinson Crusoe in 1719...
includes a character who successfully pled her belly despite being “no more with child than the judge that tried [her].” John Gay
John Gay
John Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch...
’s The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
includes a scene where the character Filch picks up income working as a “child getter … helping the ladies to a pregnancy against their being called down to sentence”.
As a check against this abuse of the system, the law held that no women could be granted a second reprieve from the original sentence on the ground of subsequent pregnancy, even if the fetus had quickened. In the event that a female prisoner became pregnant, her gaoler or the local sheriff was subject to a fine.