TITLE V. CONCERNING HOMICIDE.
| I. | Where One Kills Another without Knowing it. |
| II. | Where One Kills Another without Seeing Him. |
| III. | Where One, being Pushed, Kills Another. |
| IV. | Where One, Seeking to Strike Another, Kills a Third Person. |
| V. | Where One is Killed while Interfering in a Quarrel. |
| VI. | Where One, Intending to Inflict a Slight Injury, Kills Another. |
| VII. | Where One, in Sport, or Recklessly, Kills Another. |
| VIII. | Where One Kills Another through Immoderate Punishment. |
| IX. | Where a Freeman Kills a Slave by Accident. |
| X. | Where a Slave Kills a Freeman by Accident. |
| XI. | Where One Man Intentionally Kills Another. |
| XII. | No Master shall Kill his Slave without Good Reason; and Where One Freeman Kills Another. |
| XIII. | No One shall Deprive a Male or Female Slave of a Limb. |
| XIV. | Any Person may bring an Accusation of Homicide. |
| XV. | Both Relatives and Strangers have a Right to Accuse a Person of Homicide. |
| XVI. | Where a Homicide Takes Refuge in a Church. |
| XVII. | Concerning Parricides, and the Disposition of their Property. |
| XVIII. | Concerning Those who Kill Others Related to Them by Blood. |
| XIX. | Where One Blood Relative is Accidentally Killed by Another. |
| XX. | Where One Slave Kills Another by Accident. |
| XXI. | Concerning Those who Destroy their Souls by Perjury. |
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
I. Where One Kills Another without Knowing it.
Whoever kills another ignorantly and unintentionally, if he has cherished no animosity against him, is not guilty of murder according to the Word of God; for it is not just that he should suffer the penalty of homicide who committed the act against his will.
FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.
II. Where One Kills Another without Seeing Him.
If one man should kill another, either standing, coming, or passing by, not being aware of his presence at the time, where no cause of enmity had previously existed between them, and he who committed the homicide shall declare that he did it involuntarily, and shall be able to prove this in court, he shall depart in safety.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
III. Where One, being Pushed, Kills Another.
If anyone, either by accident, or by being pushed in any way, or by rushing headlong upon another, should kill him, he shall not be liable to the penalties of homicide. But if one man should push another, and, impelled by that push, the latter should kill a third party, and he who gave the push did so without malice, he shall pay a fine of a pound of gold, because he neglected to avoid the commission of an injury.
THE GLORIOUS FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
IV. Where One, Seeking to Strike Another, Kills a Third Person.
Whenever, in a quarrel, anyone, while endeavoring to strike his adversary, unwillingly kills a third person, a legal investigation must be made to determine who originated the quarrel; and if it should be found that he was guilty who was first struck at, then he who stirred up the strife, although he escaped the blow, yet, because it is apparent that he was the cause of the homicide, shall pay a fine of a hundred golden solidi. He who struck the blow shall pay fifty solidi to the nearest relatives of the person who was killed. Thus both pay a penalty; one, because he intentionally gave an opportunity for the commission of homicide; the other, because he unintentionally committed said homicide.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
V. Where One is Killed while Interfering in a Quarrel.
If any freeman should interfere in a quarrel for the purpose of making peace, and should be killed in consequence, and he who struck him shall be able to prove, either by his own oath, or by the testimony of respectable witnesses, that the act was not committed intentionally, because the party who struck the fatal blow did not wish to commit assault or homicide upon the person who was killed, he shall pay a pound of gold to the relatives of the person who lost his life; and, in like manner, if any wound was inflicted under similar circumstances, the person who inflicted it shall pay a third part of the aforesaid sum; for the reason that the death of him who interfered for the purpose of making peace should not be unavenged.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
VI. Where One, Intending to Inflict a Slight Injury, Kills Another.
Where anyone, attempting to commit an injury, gives a kick, or a blow with the fist, or commits any other violent act, and death should result, the guilty party shall be punished for homicide.
VII. Where One, in Sport, or Recklessly, Kills Another.
Whoever incautiously, or recklessly, or in sport, or in a crowd, unintentionally, by a fatal blow, strikes or kills anyone; because no malicious intention or desire to injure existed, shall incur no infamy for having committed an assault or homicide, even though he should be convicted by oath, or by the testimony of witnesses; nor shall he be liable to punishment by death, because he did not kill the person intentionally. But, for the reason that he struck the fatal blow without due caution, and did not attempt to avoid an accident, he shall pay a pound of gold to the nearest relatives of the deceased, and shall receive fifty lashes with the scourge.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
VIII. Where One Kills Another through Immoderate Punishment.
If it should happen that a scholar, or any person under the patronage, or in the service of another, while undergoing moderate corporeal punishment, inflicted by his teacher, patron, or master, should die as a result of the same; and that he who inflicted the punishment entertained neither hatred or malice toward him whom he killed; he shall neither be rendered infamous, nor punished on account of the homicide; for the reason that it is said in the Holy Word of God that he shall be unhappy, who does not inflict punishment.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
IX. Where a Freeman Kills a Slave by Accident.
If a freeman should kill a slave not intentionally, but by accident, he shall be compelled to pay to the master of the slave one-half of the amount which has been provided by way of reparation in the case of freeborn persons, under similar circumstances.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
X. Where a Slave Kills a Freeman by Accident.
If a slave should kill a freeborn person not intentionally, but accidentally, he shall pay the same sum which a former law has provided in the case of other freeborn persons. But if the master should be unwilling to pay said sum for his slave, the latter must, at once, be given up to justice.
ANCIENT LAW.
XI. Where One Man Intentionally Kills Another.
Every man who kills another intentionally, and not by accident, is liable to punishment for homicide.
FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.
XII. No Master shall Kill his Slave without Good Reason; and Where One Freeman Kills Another.
If anyone who is guilty of crime, or of giving wicked counsel to another, cannot escape punishment, how much more liable is he who deliberately and maliciously commits homicide? For this reason, as very frequently, through the excesses of cruel masters, slaves are deprived of their lives, without having committed any crime; it is proper that this license should be entirely abolished by means of the following law, which shall be hereafter observed by all, to wit: that no master or mistress shall deprive either their own slaves, or the slaves of others, of life, without an order of court. But if such a slave should acknowledge his guilt of a crime for which he is liable to punishment by death, his master or his accuser shall straightway communicate the fact to the judge of the district where the deed was committed; or to the governor of the city, or the governor of the province; and if, after an investigation, it is evident that the crime has been committed, the culprit shall receive, either from the judge or from his own master, the punishment of death, which he deserves.
If the judge should be unwilling to order him to be executed he shall commit his sentence of death to writing, and the master shall then have the power to either kill him, or to spare his life. If a slave, of either sex, while resisting his or her master, should strike him with a sword, stone, or with any weapon; or should attempt to strike him; and the master, in his own defence, should immediately kill the slave, he shall not be punished for homicide, if it is evident that he defended himself; that is to say, if he can establish by the testimony, or the oaths of other slaves who were present, and by his own oath, that he was acting in his own defence. Where any person, through malice, either acting himself or through the agency of another, kills his own slave, he shall be deprived of the right to testify in court thereafter, as a mark of infamy; and, in order that such rashness may be prevented, he shall be exiled as long as he lives, and be forced to do penance, and his property shall be given to those whom the law has designated as his nearest heirs. Anyone who shall deliberately or intentionally kill, or order to be killed, a slave, of either sex, belonging to another, shall be compelled to give two slaves of equal value, to the master of the one who was killed; and the homicide, according to the provision hereinbefore stated, shall be sentenced to perpetual exile. And if either a master or a mistress, influenced by a sense of injury, or by anger, while inflicting punishment upon a slave of either sex, whether their own, or belonging to another, should kill such slave by a blow; and should be able to prove, either by witnesses, or by his or her own oath, that he or she involuntarily committed said homicide; such person shall not be amenable to punishment under this law. Where any male or female slave admits that he or she has, at the instigation, and with the consent of their master, killed a fellow slave or any other person, and, having been put to the torture, should accuse their master of having planned the crime for his own benefit; said slaves shall be publicly scourged with a hundred lashes, and shall be scalped as a token of infamy. If, however, the master should swear that he has not ordered, or influenced said slave, in any way, he shall not be considered guilty under this law; and the slave who committed the homicide shall be delivered up into the power of the master of the slave who was killed, to be disposed of at his pleasure; for any slave who kills another slave must be surrendered to the master of the latter.
Where a freeborn person has been convicted of having killed anyone by treachery, and for the purpose of robbery, while the latter was either on a journey or at home, he shall be at once punished for homicide; and as anyone who by counsel, or by order, instigates another to commit murder, is to be regarded as more infamous than he who perpetrated the deed, it is hereby especially provided that, except in the case of slaves, as hereinbefore set forth, if either a master or a mistress should order a freeborn person, of either sex, to be killed by a slave, and, after a severe, public investigation by torture, confession of the crime is made by said slaves, implicating their master or mistress, their testimony concerning the latter shall not be received, unless they are able to confirm it by the evidence of reputable witnesses. The master who is thus accused, must, at once, in the presence of the court, purge himself of all guilt by oath. Those who confess that they committed the homicide, shall either be punished for the crime, or shall be surrendered to the parents or the relatives of him who was killed, that they may do with them whatever they desire. Where the master is unable to make oath, as aforesaid, the male or female servant who has perpetrated such an infamous act, shall receive two hundred lashes, and shall be scalped as a mark of infamy. The master, by whose order such wickedness has been committed, shall suffer the punishment of death.
If several freeborn persons, by common agreement, should plan the perpetration of a homicide, he who struck the blow, or actually committed the deed, shall be put to death. The others, however, who are convicted of having plotted the crime, although they did not take an active part in its perpetration, shall nevertheless, on account of their wicked counsel, each receive two hundred lashes in public, and undergo the ignominy of being scalped. And, in addition, each shall be compelled to pay fifty solidi to the nearest relatives of the deceased, and should any of them not be possessed of such a sum, he shall be delivered over to them to be their slave forever.[37]
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
XIII. No One shall Deprive a Male or Female Slave of a Limb.
By a former law we have restrained masters, actuated by unbridled rage, from putting their slaves to death. Now that they may not deform man, who was made in God’s own image, while in the act of practising cruelty upon those who are subject to them, we must forbid corporeal mutilation. For which reason, we decree that if any master or mistress, without a preliminary investigation in court, should openly and wickedly, deprive their slave of his nose, lip, tongue, ear, or foot; or should tear out his eye; or should mutilate any other part of his body; or should order anyone else to perpetrate any of these acts; he or she shall be sentenced by the bishop in whose territory they live, or where the deed is proved to have been committed, to three years of exile, with penance.
Where such persons have children, who are not implicated with them in their crime, the latter shall take charge of all their property, and care for it; and shall restore it, with an account of their management of the same, when their parents return from exile. If, however, they have no legitimate children, the judge shall give said property into the keeping of other relatives; who, in like manner, upon return of the exiles, must restore to them said property, with an account of their management of the same. But should there be no such relative, the judge himself shall take charge of the property and preserve it, and, in like manner, give an account of it, when the parties return from exile.
THE GLORIOUS FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
XIV. Any Person may bring an Accusation of Homicide.
If no one should be willing to accuse another of homicide, the judge, as soon as he learns that the crime has been committed, shall have the power to apprehend the guilty party, that he may receive the sentence he deserves; for the punishment of the crime may be unduly deferred, either on account of the absence of the accuser, or because some collusion exists between him and the murderer. A wife shall have the right to inquire into the death of her husband, or into any injury he has suffered at the hands of another; and a husband has, likewise, the same privilege in the case of a wife, and may demand that the crime be avenged by law. If either husband or wife should die while they had the intention of prosecuting a criminal, and, in consequence thereof, said prosecution should be left incomplete, their children or relatives, who stand next in the line of hereditary succession, shall have full power to accuse the offender, or the homicide, and to carry on the prosecution just as parents can do. The children or aforesaid relatives, shall not be entitled to the property of the offender or homicide, unless he should have previously undergone the punishment prescribed by law for his crime. If the judge, after having been notified, should refuse to avenge the crime, and, by reason of his delay or neglect, the matter should finally be brought to the attention of the king, the judge shall be compelled to give half of the legal composition for the homicide; that is to say, two hundred and fifty solidi, as a penalty for his disregard of his judicial duties. No one shall have a right to claim the property of anyone who is punished for a crime, before the sentence prescribed by law for said crime has been pronounced by the court.
FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.
XV. Both Relatives and Strangers have a Right to Accuse a Person of Homicide.
As it is proper that those who are guilty of other crimes should receive the penalties which they deserve, it must be regarded as infamous that homicides, whom it is but right should be treated with greater severity, should escape without punishment. Therefore, that no one who has committed a homicide may escape, or think that, by making excuses, he can avoid the consequences of his crime; the right of prosecution is hereby given, in the first place, to the relatives of the deceased; and if said relatives should be either lukewarm, or dilatory in inquiring into the death of their relative, then other relatives, as well as strangers, shall have the right to prosecute the offender. Any person who fraudulently attempts to defend or excuse a homicide, shall be compelled to pay to the accuser, double the amount which he has corruptly received. For no one guilty of homicide can ever feel secure, so long as he knows that everyone has the right to prosecute him.
FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.
XVI. Where a Homicide Takes Refuge in a Church.
We are not unmindful that, heretofore, many laws have been enacted, and penalties to be inflicted upon the guilty prescribed according to the nature of the crime, whether it be homicide or some other offence. Yet, because the authors of these wicked deeds who are as ready to commit them as they are cunning in seeking opportunities to escape punishment, and, as they, for the most part, betake themselves for protection to the churches of God, while, at the same time, they do not fear to commit crimes in violation of the Divine precepts; for the reason that wickedness of this kind should never go unpunished, because it destroys life, and frequently impels the minds of men to the commission of worse offences, we promulgate the following decree, to be observed through all time, to wit: That, as the law directs that every homicide or malefactor shall be punished, so, whoever, according to his own impulse, or evil disposition, commits such a crime, shall never be released from liability to the law, by any excuse or influence; but in case he should take refuge at the Holy Altar, a pursuer shall not presume to remove him from it without the consent of the priest. The priest having been consulted, however, and oath made that the party sought is a criminal, and liable to be publicly condemned to death; the priest himself shall drive him from the altar, and eject him from the choir; so that he who is pursuing him may arrest him.
He who has thus been driven from the church shall not, however, be liable to the penalty of death; but the sight of his eyes shall be entirely destroyed; or he may be delivered up into the power of the parents or relatives of him whom he killed; and the latter shall have the right to dispose of him at their pleasure, excepting they shall not put him to death; as a warning to prevent the intentions of depraved men from being carried into effect, when they know what punishments are prepared for them; and that he whom a wicked impulse often drives to the commission of an unlawful act, may, through terror, abstain from evil.
FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.
XVII. Concerning Parricides, and the Disposition of their Property.
As no homicide intentionally committed is left unpunished by our laws, and as he who kills a blood-relation is more deserving of death than an ordinary murderer; we therefore promulgate the following edict, to be hereafter observed through all ages: That whoever shall be guilty of parricide; that is to say, whoever shall purposely, or actuated by the impulses of a depraved mind, kill his father, his mother, his brother, his sister, or anyone else nearly related to him, shall be immediately arrested by the judge, and put to death in the same manner as that by which he deprived his victim of life. Where the party guilty of the crime of parricide has no children, all his or her property shall belong to the nearest heirs of the person killed. If he or she should have children by another marriage, half of said property shall belong to the heirs of the person killed, and half to the children of the parricide, provided they were not implicated in the crime of the father or mother; but, if they were implicated in said crime, all of said property shall belong to the children of the deceased. But if neither the parricide nor his victim should have left any children, then the parents of the person who was killed, or his nearest relatives, or such persons as have taken upon themselves the duty of avenging his death, shall have the undoubted right to claim for themselves the entire property of said parricide.
ANCIENT LAW.
XVIII. Concerning Those who Kill Others Related to Them by Blood.
If a father should kill his son; or a son his father; or a husband his wife; or a wife her husband; or a mother her daughter; or a daughter her mother; or a brother his brother; or a sister her sister; or a son-in-law his father-in-law; or a father-in-law his son-in-law; or a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law; or a mother-in-law her daughter-in-law; or if any of said persons should kill anyone else related to them by blood or lineage, they shall be condemned to death. And, if on account of his crime, the homicide should flee to a church, or take refuge at the Holy Altar, he shall be delivered up into the power of the parents or relatives of him whom he killed; and they shall have full authority to dispose of him, according to their pleasure, except to deprive him of life. And we decree that all his property shall go to the heirs of the person killed, as hereinbefore provided; or be forfeited to the Crown, should the person killed leave no near heirs; for a homicide, if liberated, has no right to the enjoyment of his property, even should he escape the penalty of death.
XIX. Where One Blood Relative is Accidentally Killed by Another.
If a father should kill his son; or a son his father; or a mother her daughter; or a brother his brother; or any person one nearly related to him; and he who commits such an act should be impelled by injury, or should be acting in self-defence, and it can be proven in open court, by respectable witnesses, who are worthy of credit, that the parricide was committed in self-defence; the party accused shall be in no danger of his life, and shall be discharged, without loss of property or subjection to torture; such discrimination being used as is proper in all cases of homicide.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
XX. Where One Slave Kills Another by Accident.
If one slave should be convicted of having accidentally killed another, his master shall pay to the master of the slave who was killed, by way of compensation, one half the sum required by law, under similar circumstances, where death ensues as the result of an accident. If the master should refuse to give satisfaction as aforesaid, he must surrender the slave to the master of the one who was killed.
ANCIENT LAW.
XXI. Concerning Those who Destroy their Souls by Perjury.
If anyone, on account of oppression of any kind, should knowingly conceal the truth or should perjure himself; as soon as the fact shall come to the knowledge of the judge, he shall be arrested; shall receive a hundred lashes; shall be branded as an infamous witness; and shall never again be permitted to testify in court. And, as has been provided by a former law relating to perjury, a fourth part of his property shall be given, by order of the judge, to him whom he attempted to defraud.