Ann Biderman is a Canadian.
Civil death -LRB- civiliter mortuus -RRB- is the loss of all or almost all civil rights by a person due to a conviction for a felony or due to an act by the government of a country that results in the loss of civil rights .. civil rights. civil rights. felony. felony. It is usually inflicted on persons convicted of crimes against the state or adults determined by a court to be legally incompetent because of mental disability .. In medieval Europe , felons lost all civil rights upon their conviction .. civil rights. civil rights. This civil death often led to actual death , since anyone could kill and injure a felon with impunity .. Under the Holy Roman Empire , a person declared civilly dead was referred to as vogelfrei , ` free as a bird ' , and could even be killed since they were completely outside the law .. Holy Roman Empire. Holy Roman Empire. vogelfrei. vogelfrei. Historically outlawry , that is , declaring a person as an outlaw , was a common form of civil death .. outlaw. outlaw. In the US , the disenfranchisement of felons has been called a form of civil death , as has being subjected to collateral consequences in general .. disenfranchisement of felons. Felony disenfranchisement. collateral consequences. collateral consequences of criminal conviction