"Calico" Jack and co

[Fox]

Just been reading about a London pickpocket named Moll King, whose life bears a number of similarities to Moll Flanders' (That's Ned's wayward sister...). When she was committed to Newgate in 1719-20 awaiting transportation to the colonies one of her fellow prisoners was a woman named Sarah Wells, alias "Callico" Sarah. In late 1722 both women had returned from America, and both were captured again and put into Newgate together. In 1723 they were both transported again.

Anyway...rambling on... What I'm really posting about is this: Moll King was originally sentenced to transportation because she had been sentenced to death but pleaded her belly. She was kept in prison until a few weeks after she had given birth then sailed for Annapolis. This was in the same year that Anne Bonny and Mary Read (back to Calico associates) were both sentenced to death and pleaded their bellies. BUT Bonny and Read were already in the Americas. Do any of the fine folks here know what the usual form was when a condemned woman in the Americas pleaded her belly? Was she sent to work on a plantation, as though she had been transported? Or something else?

[Captain Jim]

My understanding is that the court could impose a variety of sentence modifications, commuting tthe sentence to life, forced labor or indenturement or delaying execution until after the birth thus orphaning the child. Nice, eh? I'll see if I can find resources confirming this, but I'm going afield now and havn't the time til later.

[Red Maria]

Both women (Bonney & Read) had their death sentances temporarily commuted till they gave birth after which they were to be executed. Mary Read died from a fever in childbirth. What excatly happnede to Anne Bonney is uncertain but it is reumored (and I'm inclined to beleive) that her rich plantainon owning father bailed her out on the promise she do excatly what she was told to do by him.

From what I've seen if a women plead her belly her sentance was temporarely suspeded till the birth of the child then sentance carried out wheter it was transportation or death.

[Fox]

From what I've seen if a women plead her belly her sentance was temporarely suspeded till the birth of the child then sentance carried out wheter it was transportation or death.

Well, that's what I'd always thought, but this book I'm reading (and he quotes extensively from primary sources) makes it clear that in some of these cases at least the punishment was commuted to transportation instead of death. There was even a class of young men who visited Newgate specifically to impregnate women awaiting trial on a capital charge - which would be pointless if it was only a postponement of the inevitable.

Since English colonies were subject ot English law it made me wonder what happened to people already in America.