High treason in the United Kingdom 1967. The Treason Act 1795 made it treason to "compass, imagine, invent, devise or intend death or destruction, or any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maim or wounding, imprisonment or restraint, of the person of ... the King." This was abolished in 1998, when the death penalty was also abolished. On 26 March 2015 the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 came into effect, which amended the line of succession to the throne to give women the same right to succeed to the throne as their brothers. In consequence of this, the Treason Act 1351 was amended in
High treason in the United Kingdom heirs would be allowed to succeed to them. In cases of high treason, however, an individual could not save his lands by refusing to enter a plea; instead, a refusal would be punished by immediate forfeiture of all estates. This distinction between treasons and felonies ended in 1772, when the court was permitted to enter a plea on a defendant's behalf. Formerly, an individual was not entitled to assistance of counsel in any capital case, including treason; the rule, however, was abolished in treason cases by the Treason Act 1695. The same Act extended a rule from 1661 which had