French courts overrode West African customary immunity for ritual murder as uncivilized
Evidence
One West African custom deemed contrary to civilization, according to the new decree, was ritual murder. In 1909, the Chambre ruled in three cases involving ritual murder and explained its procedures: … In [a] fetishist country, custom does not penalize criminal actions in which the ritual element dominates. Thus, when the religious chief or the chief of the spirits imposes the poison ordeal on an individual accused of having caused the death of an inhabitant of the village, this chief and the witch designated by him to administer the poison cannot ordinarily be prosecuted, since custom does not punish ritual murder. But if the native courts must apply local custom in all matters, this is only on the condition that it does not conflict with the principles of civilization. It is, however, against these principles to let an attack upon a human life go unpunished, even if this attack was ordered by a religious authority. It is thus proper to impose upon the offenders one of the criminal penalties provided in native justice, all the while taking into account their mentality and their social standing. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 438
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- DEFINE: Shows how the French defined ‘ritual murder’ as a custom contrary to civilization, overriding local religious protections.