(Wo)manslaughter The History of Murder Podcast

Today's episode looks at women in the history of murder.
First, we'll see how the law of murder applied differently to women than it did to men. One big difference is the fact that women weren't eligible to plead benefit of clergy until 1691, which meant they were (essentially) unable to be convicted of manslaughter. This is a drag for women who kill others through negligence and who are then executed for it. On the flip side, women could "plead the belly," meaning that they could have their date of execution postponed if they were pregnant.
Then, we'll look at early-modern ideas of female violence. While women were stereotypically associated with sneaky killing and poison, we'll see some women were totally willing to beat the crap out of people in the public "very much with their fists."
Finally, we'll look at the notion that it was a form of treason, and not just murder, when a wife killed her husband. This crime, called petty treason, carried with it the horrific punishment of burning women alive.
As always, check out the website for more details at historyofmurderpodcast.com