Summons for excise offenses may be left at a person's abode, workhouse, or shop as well as on his person.
The coroner's office now investigated unusual deaths with a jury from the neighborhood elected by county freeholders.
The last beheading was of a Scottish lord in 1747; he had been involved in an attempt to restore the Stuarts to the throne. So many people came that some overcrowded bleachers fell down and crushed about 20 spectators. Henceforth, every sentence of death was by hanging, even for peers.
In 1772, the process of pressing a man to death, if he refused to plead to an indictment was abolished. In 1772, persons accused or indicted, in Great Britain or America, of felony or piracy who stand mute shall be convicted of such charge. Property of a felon was still forfeited to the crown.
From 1749 on were established special procedures for speedy decisions in local courts in some areas for debts or damages under 40s. and imprisonment for such was limited for up to three months. Otherwise, sentences were longer, and debts grew during the time in prison. When prisons were overcrowded, Parliament let the inmates out if they gave up their possessions. They could go to Georgia.
In 1763, the homes of John Wilkes and others were searched for a seditious and treasonous published paper and all related papers because they had been rumored to have some relationship to the conception, writing, publication, or distribution of the paper. Wilkes had such papers and was convicted of libel. He countersued for damages due to criminal trespass. The court held that general search warrants were subversive of the liberty of the subject of the search in violation of the British Constitution, declared the statute void, and found for Wilkes. The Court of Common Pleas agreed on appeal and put the burden of proof on the persons searching to justify the search warrant. His decision gave support to William Pitt's assertion that "every man's home is his castle".
There were felons' prisons and debtors' prisons. Sometimes they were one and the same. There was much fighting among inmates. The inmates slept on hay if lucky. There were no washing facilities and little light. Counties or friends paid for their bread. They were also sold beer, which made them drunk and riotous. The sale of beer was a recognized and legitimate source of profit to the keeper. This was remedied by statute of 1760 that no sheriff or other officer may take an arrested person to a tavern or other public house or charge him for any wine, beer, ale, victuals, tobacco or other liquor without his consent and shall allow prisoners to be brought beer, ale, victuals, bedding, and linen as the prisoner sees fit. Sheriffs often kept people imprisoned unless and until they paid all their fees due to the sheriff. In 1772 was founded the Society for the Discharge and Relief of Persons Imprisoned for Small Debts for those inmates unfortunate instead of fraudulent or extravagant. Legacies were often made to debtors. There was much Gaol Distemper fever with fatal consequences. When John Howard, a grocer who had inherited wealth, but poor health, became a sheriff, he visited many gaols. When he saw the squalid conditions there, he advocated hygenic practices. In 1774, Justices of the Peace were authorized to order walls and ceilings of gaols to be scraped and washed, ventilators for supplies of fresh air, a separate room for the sick prisoners, commodious bathing tubs, provision of clothes for prisoners, keeping of prisoners not below the ground, and apothecaries at a stated salary to attend and to report the state of health of prisoners.
In 1773, clergymen were employed in gaols to alleviate the distress of prisoners and to contribute to morality and religion. Also, no longer may any fees be taken by gaol keepers or sheriffs because persons not indicted or found not guilty have been kept in prison pending payment of such fees. Instead, the counties shall pay to gaol keepers up to 13s.4d. per prisoner so discharged.
There was much Gaol Distemper fever with fatal consequences, so in 1774, Justices of the Peace were authorized to order walls and ceilings of gaols to be scraped and washed, ventilators for supplies of fresh air, a separate room for the sick prisoners, commodious bathing tubs, provision of clothes for prisoners, keeping of prisoners not below the ground, and apothecaries at a stated salary to attend and to report the state of health of prisoners.
Colonials acts which infringed upon the English common or statutory law, or were against the interests of other American colonies were submitted to the Privy Council, which allowed or disallowed them. Appeals from the colonial courts came to the Privy Council.