Treason Act 1423

Treason Act 1423

Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Long title	Persons indicted of high treason escaping out of prison shall be adjudged traitors.
Citation	2 Hen. 6. c. 21
Territorial extent	England and Wales Ireland
Dates
Royal assent	1423 by Henry VI
Commencement	20 October 1423 [a]
Repealed	10 August 1872
Other legislation
Amended by	Treason Act 1547 [Statute Law Revision Act 1863] }
Repealed by	Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872
Relates to	Treason Act 1351 Escape of Traitors Act 1572
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Treason Act 1423 (2 Hen. 6. c. 21), also known as the Escape Act 1423, was an act of the Parliament of England that made it high treason for a person who had been indicted for treason to escape from prison (whether they were guilty of the original allegation of treason or not).

The act is chapter 17 in Ruffhead's edition. ^[1]

Legacy

The act was extended to Ireland by Poynings' Law 1495 (10 Hen. 7. c. 22 (I)).

This form of treason was abolished for England and Wales by the Treason Act 1547 (1 Edw. 6. c. 12).

The whole act was repealed for England and Wales by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125).

The whole act was repealed for Ireland by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 98).

See also

• Escape of Traitors Act 1572
• High treason in the United Kingdom

Notes

1. Section 1.

References

• J W Willis-Bund. A Selection of Cases from the State Trials. Cambridge. 1879. vol 1. p 29.
• Rowena E. Archer and Simon Walker (eds). Rulers and Ruled in Late Medieval England: Essays Presented to Gerald Harriss. The Hambledon Press. 1995. pp 83 & 84.

1. The Statutes at Large. 1763. vol 1. p 531