TY - JOUR
T1 - Searching for Pigeons in the Belfry: The Inquest, the Abolition of the Deodand and the Rise of the Family
AU - Kirton-Darling, Edward
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - This article explores the abolition in 1846 of the deodand – the object or animal declared responsible for death by an inquest jury – and its relationship with the family of the deceased. Drawing on the work of Jacques Donzelot, it argues that the deodand brought contingency into the heart of law, and that its replacement with a legal right to compensation for dependents was a move to rationalize the investigation of death. This rationalization had consequences; limiting the place of the unruly community, centering and regulated the family, and disconnecting the inquest from the material of death.
AB - This article explores the abolition in 1846 of the deodand – the object or animal declared responsible for death by an inquest jury – and its relationship with the family of the deceased. Drawing on the work of Jacques Donzelot, it argues that the deodand brought contingency into the heart of law, and that its replacement with a legal right to compensation for dependents was a move to rationalize the investigation of death. This rationalization had consequences; limiting the place of the unruly community, centering and regulated the family, and disconnecting the inquest from the material of death.
UR - http://lch.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/12/09/1743872114560701.abstract
U2 - 10.1177/1743872114560701
DO - 10.1177/1743872114560701
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
JO - Law, Culture and the Humanities
JF - Law, Culture and the Humanities
ER -