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| | Forfeiture in England and Colonial America |
 | | By the seventeenth century crimes that were considered felonies included murder, manslaughter, witchcraft, larceny, abduction of an heiress with intent to marry her, forgery of a deed or testimonial, transportation of a sheep, and malicious cutting of another man's tongue or his eyes [Veall, 1970:2]. |
 | | Some were royal colonies (such as Virginia) thought to be under direct control of the Crown; others were chartered colonies (e.g., Massachusetts) in which extensive governing rights were given to a charter company; still others were proprietary colonies (e.g., Maryland and Pennsylvania) in which a single owner had been granted vast authority [Hall, 1989:14]. |
 | | This created a difficult situation, because slaves, in many of the colonies, were considered chattel and could, theoretically, be included as part of a forfeiture if their owner were convicted and attained for a capital felony. |
| www.fsu.edu /~crimdo/forfeiture.html (14355 words) |
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