In our own image

摘要

It was a classic open-and-shut case. As Jehan Martin slept in his bed an intruder crept in, killed him and mutilated his body. Witnesses had seen a female enter the house on the day of the attack. She was subsequently taken into custody and tried in court. The trouble was the perpetrator happened to be a pig. Historical records document at least 200 trials in which an animal was the principal defendant. So this case in 1457 is by no means an isolated incident. The accused were often assigned lawyers and confined to jail during trials. Occasionally they were acquitted - a donkey on trial for lewd sexual acts, for example, was freed after loyal supporters testified that she was "in all her habits of life a most honest creature".