Judicial murder is the unjustified execution of death penalty.

The term was first used in 1782 (German Justizmord) by August Ludwig von Schlözer

August Ludwig von Schlözer

August Ludwig von Schlözer was a German historian who laid foundations for the critical study of Russian history.-Early career:...

 in reference to the execution of Anna Göldi

Anna Göldi

Anna Göldi Anna Göldi Anna Göldi (also Anna Göldin, October 24, 1734 – June 13, 1782 is known as the "last witch" in Switzerland. She was executed for murder in June 1782 in Glarus....

. In a footnote, he explains the term as

"the murder of an innocent, deliberately, and with all the pomp of holy Justice, perpetrated by people installed to prevent murder, or, if a murder has occurred, to see to it that it is punished appropriately."

Voltaire

Voltaire

François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...

 in 1777 used the comparable term of "judicial assassins" (assassins juridiques).

Hermann Mostar (1956) defends the extension of the term to un-premeditated miscarriage of justice

Miscarriage of justice

A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...

where an innocent suffers the death penalty.

External links

• Letter by Voltaire to Frederick II, April 1777