''Non compos mentis'' is a Latin legal phrase that translates to "of unsound mind": ''nōn'' ("not") prefaces ''compos mentis'', meaning "having control of one's mind." This phrase was first used in thirteenth-century

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

to describe people afflicted by madness, the loss of memory or ability to reason.

Usage

The status of ''non compos mentis'' applied to those who were not mad from birth, but became so later in life through no fault of their own. The property and interests of such a person could be committed to another party to conserve and administer them for the duration of their madness. Their criminal culpability was also limited except in cases of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. This contrasted with "natural fools" who were mad from birth and whose property interests passed to the crown, and habitual drunkards, who could claim no defense of madness.

Prosecution of suicide

''Non compos mentis'' and ''

felo de se ''Felo de se'' (from Medieval Latin ''fel'' 'lō dē sē'', "felon of him-/herself") was a concept applied against the personal estates (assets) of adults who ended their own lives. Early English common law, among others, by this concept con ...

'' (the Latin word for "self-murder") presented two different verdicts in the case of a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. In the finding of a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

, the deceased who was stigmatized ''felo de se'' would be excluded from burial in consecrated ground and would forfeit their estate to the Crown, while these penalties would not apply to the deceased affirmed ''non compos mentis''. Suicide was a severe crime in Tudor and early Stuart England and was considered a form of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

; a

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

not only in the eyes of the Church but also defined by criminal law. The state of mind of self-killers at the time they committed their fatal deed was crucial. To be judged guilty of "self-murder", one had to be sane. Men and women who killed themselves when they were mad or otherwise mentally incompetent were considered innocent. The verdict would be made by a jury. The penalty for suicide in England originated in the ancient world and evolved gradually into their early modern form; similar laws and customs existed in many parts of Europe. Born of domestic beliefs, the ritual of punishing suicide, which is usually concerned with the suicidal corpse, embodies the notion that suicide is polluting, and that the suicide should be ostracized by the community of the living and the dead. The theological and legal severity increased in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

. The medieval theologian

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

extended

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...

's arguments against suicide and added the new interpretation of "violation of

natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...

" to it. Most western European governments began to promulgate laws to confiscate some of a suicide's property. However, attitudes to suicide changed profoundly after 1660, following the

English Revolution The English Revolution is a term that describes two separate events in English history. Prior to the 20th century, it was generally applied to the 1688 Glorious Revolution, when James II was deposed and a constitutional monarchy established unde ...

. After the civil war, political and social changes, judicial and ecclesiastical severity gave way to official leniency for most people who died by suicide. ''Non compos mentis'' verdicts increased greatly, and ''felo de se'' verdicts became as rare as ''non compos mentis'' had been two centuries earlier.MacDonald and Murphy, ''Sleepless Souls'', pp. 109-110. However, the

laws against suicide Suicide is a crime in some parts of the world. However, while suicide has been decriminalized in many western countries, the act is stigmatized and discouraged. In other contexts, suicide could be utilized as an extreme expression of liberty, a ...

and the verdicts ''felo de se'' and ''non compos mentis'' did not fade until the late nineteenth century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Non Compos Mentis Latin legal terminology