Peine forte et dure (hard and forceful punishment) was a method of torture formerly used in the common law legal system, in which a defendant who refused to plead would be subjected to having heavier and heavier stones placed upon his or her chest until a plea was entered, or the defendant died. Many defendants charged with capital offenses would refuse to plead in order to avoid forfeiture of property.
Peine forte et dure, Legal Torture, 16th Century
Size: 3900px × 3640px
Location:
Photo credit: © Science History Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1500s, 16th, bw, century, chest, common, confession, cruelty, device, dure, forced, forceful, forte, hard, history, illustration, infamous, instrument, interrogate, law, legal, method, peine, persecution, pressing, prisoner, punishment, stones, suffering, system, torture, victim, woodcut
