Felo de se
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Felo de se, Latin for "felon of himself," is an archaic legal term meaning suicide. In early English common law, an adult who committed suicide was literally a felon, and the crime was punishable by forfeiture of property to the king and what was considered a shameful burial. A child or mentally incompetent person, however, who killed him- or herself was not considered a felo de se and was not punished post-mortem for his or her actions. The term is not commonly used in modern legal practice.
