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This article aims to find answers to the following questions.
First, what is the homicide? How can we make a distinction between murder and homicide? Second, how can we seize the process of investigation and trial about a homicide? Third, what kind of punishment do murderer? Fourth, there are many cases of general and special pardons to murderer in the reign of Edward I, II, III. If so, what have any relations to pardon and community order?
There are several kinds of homicide. That is in the administration of justice, of necessity, by chance and by intention. We must distinguish whether the necessity was avoidable or not. If avoidable, he/she could escape without slaying, he/she will then be guilty of homicide. If unavoidable, he/she could not escape danger, he/she is not liable to the penalty for homicide. Also we must distinguish whether he/she has been engaged in a proper or an improper act. By intention, one has killed another wickedly and feloniously. These are major and more serious crime because he/she principally affect the person of the king. What we called that is breach of king's peace.
The kind of the punishment for homicide is various. Some take away life or member. Some entail the abjuration of the realm of his/her community, permanent or temporary. If murderer flees to a church, he/she confess his/her crime in there because they want they remain there. After confessing the crime he/she choose to abjure the realm, he/she is sent into exile. And then he/she can not return the realm without license after being so exiled. According to Maitland's assertion, murderer was exiled from the realm of England to France or Flanders through Dover port. But I can not agree with his assertion. He/she must select some port from which he/she can cross to another land(Channel Islands) beyond the realm of England.
Pardon for homicide is various kinds. One who is under twelve years of age cannot be outlawed. Until he reaches that age he is not under any law. As soon as war was declared, it was the custom to issue a proclamation, in which a general pardon of all homicides was granted to everyone who would serve for some times at his own cost. According to this custom, king Edward granted general pardon to homicides for increasing his military force to make war with Scotland, Gascony, Spain, Wales, Ireland, Flanders, and France. In memory of accession to the throne of king Edward III, he granted special pardon to homicides. This pardon had a great influence on community social order and king's peace.
The main function of the frankpledge system was to provide mutual surety as well as crime prevention. Each frankpledge unit was divided into a number of tithings. With respect to one who has taken to flight, careful inquiry must be made as to whether he is to enter a tithing or not. If every tithings are not inspected by sheriff once a year, the tithings will be amerced before the justices for not producing the said malefactor for trial, even though men of a tithing has been arrested by others before the eyre and committed to prison. By this system we can understand how medieval English tithing system made efforts for the prevention of criminal offences and social order.