In England, a woman sentenced to death could receive a stay of execution until her baby was born if she was pregnant, a practice called 'pleading the belly'.
Sources
- How All-Female 'Juries of Matrons' Shaped Legal History (smithsonianmag.com)
- https://www.londonlives.org/static/Punishment.jsp (londonlives.org)
- https://explorations.ucdavis.edu/2015/carney_laurel.html (explorations.ucdavis.edu)
- https://www.naomiclifford.com/pleading-the-belly-jury-of-matrons/ (naomiclifford.com)
- https://theconversation.com/australias-first-civilian-jury-was-entirely-female-heres-how-juries-of-matrons-shaped-our-legal-history-229283 (theconversation.com)
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