Deodands put a price on objects that caused death
3 days ago
- In 1829, a floor collapse at the Norfolk Arms Hotel killed 30 people; the jury valued the splintered timbers at only 5 shillings as compensation.
- The deodand (from Latin 'deo dandum', meaning 'that which must be given to God') was a medieval legal concept where any movable object causing death was forfeited to the king, with proceeds theoretically given to the victim's family.
- Deodands applied only to chattel property, not real estate (e.g., a church bell was not a deodand because it was a fixture).
- The assessment of deodands varied greatly, influenced by local opinion, sympathy, and revenge, and the jury had discretion over which part of an object to value.
- During the Industrial Revolution, juries assessed higher deodand values against industrialists, especially in railway accidents, as a way to force compensation.
- Deodands were abolished in 1846, which actually protected railways and left victims' families without compensation.
- Some modern scholars propose reviving the deodand concept to hold nonhuman entities (like AI) accountable.