Mayhem (crime)
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Mayhem is an offence under the common law of England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions. In England and Wales, it has fallen into disuse. In 1992 the Law Commission recommended that it be abolished,[1] and in 1998 the Home Office proposed to abolish it, in the course of codifying the law relating to offences against the person.[2]

It consisted of the intentional and wanton removal of a body part that would handicap a person's ability to defend himself in combat. Under the strict common law definition, this required damage to an eye or a limb, while cutting off an ear or a nose was deemed not sufficiently disabling. Later the meaning of the crime expanded to encompass any mutilation, disfigurement, or crippling act done using any instrument. The noun "mayhem", and the verb "maim", came from Old French mahaigne.[3]

Contents [hide]
1 Fetter v. Beale
2 The modern doctrine
3 Newer, more usual, meaning
4 References

[edit] Fetter v. Beale
The most significant revolution in common-law mayhem doctrine came in 1697, when the King's Bench decided Fetter v. Beale, 91 Eng. Rep. 1122. There, the plaintiff recovered in a battery action against a defendant. Shortly thereafter, "part of his skull by reason of the said battery came out of his head," and the plaintiff brought a subsequent action under mayhem. Though Fetter is also known as an early example of res judicata, it is most significant for expanding the ambit of mayhem to include "loss of the skull."

[edit] The modern doctrine
In modern times, the offense of mayhem has been superseded in many jurisdictions by statutorily defined offenses such as aggravated battery.