Legal Definitions - felon of oneself

Felon of oneself is an archaic legal term that historically referred to a person who committed suicide. In past legal systems, particularly under English common law, suicide was considered a felony—a serious crime—against the state or against God. Therefore, an individual who died by suicide was deemed to have committed a felony upon themselves. This concept carried significant legal and social repercussions, such as the forfeiture of property to the Crown and denial of traditional burial rites. In most modern legal systems, suicide is no longer considered a crime, making the term largely obsolete.

• Example 1: In 17th-century England, a wealthy merchant, burdened by debt, tragically ended their own life. Under the law of the time, a coroner's inquest might have formally declared the merchant a "felon of oneself." As a direct consequence of this legal determination, the merchant's entire estate—including their lands, goods, and chattels—would have been forfeited to the Crown, leaving their family destitute. This illustrates how the term carried severe punitive legal consequences for the deceased's heirs.

• Example 2: Consider a soldier in a medieval kingdom who, after a crushing defeat, chose to take their own life rather than face capture and torture. If the authorities determined that the soldier was a "felon of oneself," their body might have been denied a consecrated burial in a churchyard. Instead, they could have been interred at a crossroads, often with a stake driven through the heart, reflecting the profound social and religious condemnation associated with the act when it was legally classified as a felony.

• Example 3: Imagine a historical legal text from the 18th century discussing the various types of felonies. Within such a text, "felon of oneself" would be listed as a specific category of offense, detailing the specific legal procedures and penalties that applied when a person was found to have died by suicide. This shows how the term was a formal legal classification with defined implications within the justice system of the era.