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http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-penalties-for-treason.htm
Treason is an act of disloyalty or betrayal of trust to your own government. Examples of treason include assassination of a state figure, fighting against your own nation in a war, assisting enemy combatants, or passing vital government information to the enemy. Historically, treason has been severely punished, because an act of treason can destroy a nation. In the modern day, a conviction of treason is accompanied at a minimum by a long jail sentence and a heavy fine, and may merit the death penalty under certain circumstances.
Traditionally, the families of traitors were punished along with the traitors themselves, to act as a deterrent to committing treason or participating in treasonous acts with family members. In addition to being sentenced to death, all of the traitor's property would be confiscated, and his or her family members might be forced to forfeit property as well in punishment. Traitors could not will property to other family members, and individuals related to someone who had committed treason faced serious social stigma. Many family members fled to other countries with what wealth they could salvage.
Often, the death penalty for treason was also particularly macabre; traitors were rarely simply hung. Someone who committed treason could anticipate being drawn and quartered or tarred and feathered, and gibbeted as an object lesson. Gibbeting refers to the public display of a criminal, alive or dead, usually with a sign detailing his or her crimes. Gibbets were hung along roadways and at the entries to towns, so that travelers would constantly be reminded of the punishments in store for crimes like treason, murder, and robbery. Many gibbets were left until the body had decayed entirely, and the family of the criminal was not permitted to bury the deceased in holy ground.
In the modern era, most nations punish the traitor alone, with a sentence of death for serious acts of treason in nations with the death penalty. Lesser acts merit a jail sentence, usually for a minimum of five years, and a heavy fine: in the United States, the fine is $10,000 US Dollars. In nations without the death penalty, traitors are usually punished with life imprisonment; these nations include Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, England, and Australia. Due to refinements of the definition for treason, treason convictions in the First World are rare, but many developing nations use accusations of treason to punish dissidents, suggesting a lack of free expression in these nations.
Treason is an act of disloyalty or betrayal of trust to your own government. Examples of treason include assassination of a state figure, fighting against your own nation in a war, assisting enemy combatants, or passing vital government information to the enemy. Historically, treason has been severely punished, because an act of treason can destroy a nation. In the modern day, a conviction of treason is accompanied at a minimum by a long jail sentence and a heavy fine, and may merit the death penalty under certain circumstances.
Traditionally, the families of traitors were punished along with the traitors themselves, to act as a deterrent to committing treason or participating in treasonous acts with family members. In addition to being sentenced to death, all of the traitor's property would be confiscated, and his or her family members might be forced to forfeit property as well in punishment. Traitors could not will property to other family members, and individuals related to someone who had committed treason faced serious social stigma. Many family members fled to other countries with what wealth they could salvage.
Often, the death penalty for treason was also particularly macabre; traitors were rarely simply hung. Someone who committed treason could anticipate being drawn and quartered or tarred and feathered, and gibbeted as an object lesson. Gibbeting refers to the public display of a criminal, alive or dead, usually with a sign detailing his or her crimes. Gibbets were hung along roadways and at the entries to towns, so that travelers would constantly be reminded of the punishments in store for crimes like treason, murder, and robbery. Many gibbets were left until the body had decayed entirely, and the family of the criminal was not permitted to bury the deceased in holy ground.
In the modern era, most nations punish the traitor alone, with a sentence of death for serious acts of treason in nations with the death penalty. Lesser acts merit a jail sentence, usually for a minimum of five years, and a heavy fine: in the United States, the fine is $10,000 US Dollars. In nations without the death penalty, traitors are usually punished with life imprisonment; these nations include Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, England, and Australia. Due to refinements of the definition for treason, treason convictions in the First World are rare, but many developing nations use accusations of treason to punish dissidents, suggesting a lack of free expression in these nations.
