The Evans, E. P. (Edward Payson) 1831-1917 creator text utu 2013 monographic en 1 online resource : multiple file formats "The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals" by E. P. Evans is a historical account written in the early 20th century. The book delves into the fascinating, if bizarre, legal practices of prosecuting animals for crimes in medieval and early modern Europe, exploring the absurdity and seriousness with which these cases were handled. It investigates the implications of these trials within the contexts of societal norms, religion, and the evolution of legal thought. The opening of the work outlines the origins of animal trials and the varying perspectives on their legality, notably the distinctions made between different types of prosecutions—those for domestic animals versus vermin. Evans introduces Bartholomew Chassenée, a jurist famous for defending rats charged with crop destruction, illustrating the lengths to which legal arguments were stretched to defend these creatures. He also discusses the interplay between secular and ecclesiastical courts in such cases, underscoring the peculiar belief that animals could be held accountable for their actions as if they were human actors in the legal system. Overall, this section sets the stage for a deeper exploration of the cultural and legal ramifications of treating animals as subjects of criminal law. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Release date is 2013-07-23 Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive.) Original publication data not identified Animals, Prosecution and punishment of -- History Animals -- Law and legislation -- History Trials -- Europe KJ Original publication data not identified 07028640 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43286 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43286 UtSlPG 260607 20260610134007.0 43286