peine forte et dure

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peine forte et dure

(French; “strong and hard punishment”)

Formerly in English law, punishment inflicted on those accused of a felony who refused to enter a plea. By a statute of 1275, the peine was usually to imprison and starve the prisoner until he submitted; in 1406 pressing by heavy weights was added to this. In one of the few instances of its use in the American colonies, during the Salem witch trials, 80-year-old Giles Corey, who had decided not to stand trial rather than forfeit his family's goods, was pressed to death by interrogators. The practice was abolished in 1772.

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No references found			The proceedings seemed to have come to a definite end so far as he was concerned; for one had only to look at that granite face to realize that no peine forte et dure would ever force him to plead against his will. The Valley of Fear by Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan View in context			pegmatolite Pegov, Nikolai Pegov, Nikolai Mikhailovich Pegtymel Pegu Peguy, Charles Péguy, Charles Peham Pehlevi language Pehpiao Pehr Evind Svinhufvud Pehr Hillestrom Pehr Hilleström Pei Pei Mountains Pei Wen-Chung Pei, I M Pei, I. M. Pei-hai Pei-p'iao Peichiang Peierls, Rudolf Ernst Peierls-Nabarro force Peihai pein peine forte et dure Peio Iavorov PEIPA Peiper, Albrecht Peiping Peipsi, Lake Peipus Peipus, Lake Peirce Peirce stroke relationship Peirce, Benjamin Peirce, Charles Sanders Peirithoüs Peisidicidae Peisistratus Peive, Aleksandr Peive, Aleksandr Voldemarovich Peive, Ian Peive, Ian Voldemarovich Peixoto, Floriano Peiyang Militarists Pekah Pekahiah Pekalongan Pekar, Josef Pekarskii, Eduard			PEIGG PEIGHS peignoir peignoirs PEIGS PEIHA Peihai PEIHHP Peiho Peiho river PEIHRIA PEIHSF PEII Peiking Peiking PEIL PEILCC PEILP PEILPNRB PEILS PEIM PEIMS Pein Pein Pein Peine fort et dure Peine fort et dure Peine fort et dure Peine fort et dure peine forte et dure peined peined Peiner Allgemeine Zeitung Peiner Walzwerker Verein peining peining peins peins Peinture Industrie Equipement Materiel PEINU Peio Peio Iavorov PEIOTRB PEIP Peip'ing Peip'ing PEIPA PEIPA PEIPB Peiper, Albrecht Peiping Peiping Peiping dialect PEIPRB Peipsi Järv Peipsi, Lake Peipus Peipus Peipus, Lake PEIR

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