CHARLES I’S TRIAL COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Dylan Li

In 1649, Charles Stuart was the first king to undergo a trial. The High Court of Justice charged him with tyranny, treason, and murder. During the trial, Charles challenged the legal legitimacy of the High Court of Justice.

The High Court of Justice ruled that Charles I was guilty of treason, tyranny, and murder. They deduced that he was guilty of treason, stating that treason is the act of taking up arms against the king. They said the king was the embodiment of the state, while the state emanated from the people (popular sovereignty). This meant that crimes against the people were considered crimes against the king, which was equivalent to treason. They deduced that Charles’s commands led to the killings of tens of thousands of people during the English Civil War, which resulted in the crimes of treason and murder. Additionally, these killings were a result of King Charles enforcing his will with crimes against the people, which was tyranny. These crimes together resulted in the king’s death sentence via beheading.

On the other hand, Charles tried to rule that the High Court of Justice lacked legal authority to put him on trial. He said that the High Court of Justice’s mantra of “Supremacy of the Commons” was illegal (which it was). However, his argument was so convincing that the Lord President of the court had to devise a way to charge him with contempt of the court. After being put into contempt of the court, the king was unable to defend himself and was successfully given a death sentence.

The result of the trial was that he was ruled guilty on January 27th, 1649, and he was put to death on January 30th, 1649. Personally, I do not believe he received a fair trial, as the High Court of Justice was technically illegitimate. Additionally, he was prevented from providing a proper defense to himself, which feels pretty unfair. However, I do think that his fate was pretty justified, as he deserved it. After all, he had caused the deaths of around 200,000 people during the English Civil War, which makes him a pretty bad guy. This is my opinion of the trial of King Charles.