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Attainder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the stain or corruption of blood which arises from being condemned for any crime.
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After a person has been condemned of a crime or any other questionable act, property and title of influence are taken away from the condemned person and (usually; see 'Corruption of Blood' below) from his/her respective family members and sometimes friends.
Attainder by confession is either by pleading guilty at the bar before the judges, and not putting one's self on one's trial by a jury; or before the coroner in sanctuary, when in ancient times, the offender was obliged to abjure the realm.
Attainder by verdict is when the prisoner at the bar pleads not guilty to the indictment, and is pronounced guilty by the verdict of the jury.
Attainder by process or outlawry is when the party flees, and is subsequently outlawed.
A bill of attainder is a bill brought into Parliament for attainting persons condemned for high treason. Notably, a person thus attainted need not have been convicted of treason in court of law; attainder has therefore historically been used for political purposes, where the guilt of a person would be difficult to prove or even fictitious. The United States Constitution, Article I, section IX, 3, provides that no bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed; bills of attainder were abolished in the United Kingdom in 1870.
Corruption of Blood also relates to one of the consequences of being impeached in early English law. If one were impeached from office, the person's family and descendants could have their titles and/or property taken away from them.
This occurs when a religious figure or group issues a judgment on its own. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini has issued a death fatwa condemning Salman Rushdie to execution for blasphemy.