Pillory

Defined in 6 dictionaries — Cyclopedic (1922), Ballentine's (1916), Bouvier (1914), Black's (1910), Kinney (1893), Abbott (1879)

The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary

Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922

An instrument of punishment, consisting of a wooden machine, in which the neck of the culprit is inserted, he being ordinarily exposed in a public place while so secured.

Ballentine's Law Dictionary

James A. Ballentine · 1916

A means of punishment consisting of a wooden bar, through which the head and hands of the culprit protruded, affixed across the top of an upright post.

Bouvier's Law Dictionary and Concise Encyclopedia

John Bouvier; revised by Francis Rawle · 1914

A wooden machine, in which the neck of the culprit is inserted. This punishment has in most of the states been superseded by the adoption of the penitentiary system. See 1 Chitty, Cr. L. 797. The punishment of standing in the pillory, so far as the same was provided by the laws of the United States, was abolished by the act of congress of February 27, 1839, § 5, and in England in 1837.

Black's Law Dictionary

Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910

A frame erected on a pillar, and made with holes and movable boards, through which the heads and hands of criminals were put.

A Law Dictionary and Glossary

George C. Kinney · 1893

An engine for the punishment of offenders, intended more for the infliction of disgrace than of pain.

Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence

Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879

An old-fashioned contrivance for the punishment of offenders; involving, however, public disgrace rather than physical suffering. The offender had to put his head through a hole or door, as it were, and his hands through other holes, and to stand there for such time as might be appointed by his sentence. It was at first appointed for fraudulent bakers and those who used false weights, and was afterwards applied to many other offences. It was abolished for England in 1837, by 7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. ch. 23. (Cowel; 4 Bl. Com. 377; 4 Steph. Com. 443, note.) It was in use in the colonies, but at the present day is disused in most, if not all, of the states; imprisonment being generally substituted. For a particular account, see Rex v. Beardmore, 2 Burr. 792.