Civil death
Encyclopedia
Civil death is a term that refers to the loss of all or almost all civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...

 by a person due to a conviction for a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

 or due to an act by the government of a country that results in the loss of civil rights. It is usually inflicted on persons convicted of crimes against the state or adults determined by a court to be legally incompetent because of mental disability.

In medieval Europe, felons lost all civil rights upon their conviction. This civil death often led to actual death, since anyone could kill and injure an ex-felon with impunity. In the old German Empire, a person declared civilly dead was called "vogelfrei" ("free as a bird") and could even be killed since they were completely outside the law.

Historically outlawry, that is, declaring a person as an outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...

, was a common form of civil death.

In the US, the disenfranchisement of felons or ex-felons has been called a form of civil death; see also loss of rights due to felony conviction
Loss of rights due to felony conviction
Loss of rights due to felony conviction takes many forms. In the United States this includes disenfranchisement. exclusion from Jury duty, and loss of the right to possess firearms.-Disenfranchisement:...

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The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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