Legal Definitions - suspendatur per collum

Suspendatur per collum is a historical Latin legal phrase that translates to "let him be hanged by the neck." In the context of historical English law, this phrase represented the formal death sentence by hanging, typically issued by a judge for capital offenses. It served as the official instruction or warrant for the sheriff to carry out the execution.

• Example 1: The Judge's Formal Pronouncement in Court

  Consider a solemn assize court in 18th-century England. A man named John has been found guilty of murder, a capital offense. After the jury delivers its verdict, the judge, robed in black, pronounces the sentence. He declares that John shall be taken from the court to the prison, and from there to a place of execution, where he shall be "hanged by the neck until he is dead." This pronouncement, though spoken in English, carried the full legal weight and intent of the Latin phrase suspendatur per collum, signifying the ultimate penalty mandated by law.

• Example 2: The Sheriff's Official Execution Warrant

  Following a trial where a prisoner named Mary was condemned for high treason, the judge would sign the official calendar, a list of all prisoners and their judgments. Next to Mary's name, the judge would write an abbreviation like "sus. per coll." or the full phrase "suspendatur per collum." This concise Latin instruction on the calendar served as the sheriff's sole legal authority and warrant to proceed with Mary's execution, confirming the judge's order for her to be hanged by the neck.

• Example 3: A Legal Historian's Archival Discovery

  A modern legal historian is researching old court records from the 17th century, examining dusty parchment documents in an archive. They come across a judge's handwritten notes in the margin of a prisoner list from a specific session. Opposite the name of a convicted individual, the historian finds the clear inscription "suspendatur per collum." This discovery immediately tells the historian that the individual was sentenced to death by hanging, providing a stark insight into the severity of justice administered during that period and the precise legal language used to mandate such a grave outcome.