Mayhem is a
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...
criminal offense
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
consisting of the intentional
maiming of another person.
Under the law of
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
and other common law jurisdictions, it originally consisted of the intentional and wanton removal of a body part that would handicap a person's ability to defend themselves in
combat
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
. Under the strict common law definition, initially this required damage to an eye or a limb, while cutting off an ear or a nose was not deemed to be sufficiently disabling. In the many years since, the meaning of the crime expanded to encompass any type of mutilation, disfigurement, or crippling act done using any instrument.
England
History of definitions
In England and Wales, it has fallen into disuse. In 1992
the Law Commission recommended that it be abolished, and in 1998 the
Home Office proposed to abolish it, in the course of codifying the law relating to
offences against the person.
''Fetter v. Beale''
The most significant change in common-law mayhem doctrine came in 1697, when the King's Bench decided ''Fetter v. Beale'', 91 Eng. Rep. 1122. There, the plaintiff recovered in a battery action against a defendant. Shortly thereafter, "part of his skull by reason of the said battery came out of his head", and the plaintiff brought a subsequent action under mayhem. Though ''Fetter'' is also known as an early example of
res judicata
''Res judicata'' (RJ) or ''res iudicata'', also known as claim preclusion, is the Latin term for "a matter decided" and refers to either of two concepts in both civil law and common law legal systems: a case in which there has been a final judgm ...
, it is most significant for expanding the ambit of mayhem to include "loss of the skull".
Modern doctrine
In modern times, the offense of mayhem has been superseded in many
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
Ju ...
s by statutory offenses such as:
*
aggravated battery
*
grievous bodily harm
Grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The ...
United States
Modern statutes in the U.S. define mayhem as disabling or disfiguring, such as rendering useless a member of another person's arms or legs. The injury must be permanent, not just a temporary loss. Some courts will hold even a minor battery as mayhem if the injury is not minor. Mayhem in the U.S. is a
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...
in all states and jurisdictions, including federal. In the states of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...
,
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, mayhem is punishable by up to
life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
. In other states where laws defining mayhem (or maiming) are in place, the maximum punishment for mayhem is generally 10 to 20 years, and mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment may also apply, depending on the laws of the state. If mayhem was committed in an aggravated fashion, such as in the case of where it resulted in permanent disability or disfigurement, the punishment is generally much more severe, and may even include life imprisonment. For example, simple mayhem in California is punishable by two to eight years in prison, whereas aggravated mayhem is punishable by up to life imprisonment.
Etymology
Both the noun ''mayhem'' and the verb ''
maim
Mutilation or maiming (from the Latin: ''mutilus'') refers to severe damage to the body that has a ruinous effect on an individual's quality of life. It can also refer to alterations that render something inferior, ugly, dysfunctional, or imper ...
'' come from
Old French via
Anglo-Norman. The word is first attested in various
Romance languages
The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...
in the 13th century, but its ultimate
origin is unclear.
[ Oxford English Dictionary, Third edition, June 2000; online version June 2011]
Etymology of other meaning
The term "wreaker of mayhem" was, accurately, originally used for a person going on a
rampage (onslaught) in the glorified setting of a
just war
The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is ...
. After such uses, the term abounded for centuries in
journalese, such as reporting "
rioting and mayhem", which readers misunderstood as meaning "havoc, chaos or pandemonium", and started the usual modern use of the word "mayhem".
References
Further reading
*
Edward Coke
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
,
Institutes of the Laws of England, Part 3, Chapter 53 (p. 118) (1797 ed.
(via the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
).
*
Edward Hyde East
Sir Edward Hyde East, 1st Baronet (9 September 1764 – 8 January 1847) was a British Member of Parliament, legal writer, and judge in India. He served as chief justice of Calcutta from 1813 to 1822. He was the first Principal of Hindu College ...
, ''Treatise of Pleas of the Crown'', Volume 1, Chapter 7 (pp. 392–403) (1806 ed.
(via
Google Book Search, Google Books).
*
William Hawkins, ''
Treatise of Pleas of the Crown'', Book 1, Part 1, Chapter 15, Sections 1–12 (pp. 107–109) (1824 ed.
(from
Google Book Search, Google Books).
* John C. Klotter and Terry D. Edwards, ''Criminal Law, Fifth Edition'' (Anderson Publishing: Cincinnati, 1998). .
* Barbara Allen Babcok, Toni M. Massaro, and Norman W. Spaulding, ''Civil Procedure: Cases and Problems'' (Aspen Publishers: New York, 2006). .
{{Types of crime
Offences against the person
Violent crime
Amputations