Mayhem (crime)

Mayhem is a criminal offence under the common law of England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions. It consisted of the intentional and wanton removal of a body part that would handicap a person's ability to defend himself in combat. Under the strict common law definition, this required damage to an eye or a limb, while cutting off an ear or a nose was deemed not sufficiently disabling. Later the meaning of the crime expanded to encompass any mutilation, disfigurement, or crippling act done using any instrument. The noun "mayhem", and the verb "maim", came from Old French mahaigne. See mayhem on Wiktionary for more about its etymology.

In England and Wales, it has fallen into disuse. In 1992 the Law Commission recommended that it be abolished, and in 1998 the Home Office proposed to abolish it, in the course of codifying the law relating to offences against the person.

In modern times the word "mayhem" is often used to mean "havoc and disorder", by popular misunderstanding of the journalese expression "rioting and mayhem".

Fetter v. Beale
The most significant revolution in common-law mayhem doctrine came in 1697, when the King's Bench decided Fetter v. Beale, 91 Eng. Rep. 1122. There, the plaintiff recovered in a battery action against a defendant. Shortly thereafter, "part of his skull by reason of the said battery came out of his head," and the plaintiff brought a subsequent action under mayhem. Though Fetter is also known as an early example of res judicata, it is most significant for expanding the ambit of mayhem to include "loss of the skull."

The modern doctrine
In modern times, the offense of mayhem has been superseded in many jurisdictions by statutorily defined offenses such as aggravated battery.

In the United States
Modern statutes in the U.S. define mayhem as disabling, disfiguring, such as rendering useless a member of another person's arms or legs. [http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=203-206.1 Cal. Pen. Code Sec. 203] The injury must be permanent, not just a temporary loss. Some courts will hold even a minor battery as mayhem if the injury is not minor. Mayhem in the U.S. is a felony.