Treason by Women Act (Ireland) 1796 Treason by Women Act (Ireland) 1796 The Treason by Women Act (Ireland) 1796 (36 Geo 3 c 31 (I)) was an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Ireland. It abolished death by burning at the stake as the penalty for women convicted of treason. (It therefore made equivalent provision to the Treason Act 1790 for Ireland.) This Act was repealed for the Republic of Ireland by section 1 of, and the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision (Pre-Union Irish Statutes) Act 1962 This Act was repealed for Northern Ireland on 30 September 1998 by section 120(2) of, and
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