Forty-eight hours away without a pass defined someone as a runaway

Clause 9 forbade owners from turning away enslaved people considered unable to work because of illness, age, or infirmity. Owners had to keep and support them; magistrates could investigate neglect...

Clause 10 required a free person to be present when punishment exceeded fifteen lashes and capped punishment at twenty-five lashes for an offense in a day. It restricted repeated flogging before...

Clause 13 allowed prosecution for cruel wounding, mutilation, or confinement without support. Where the enslaver was convicted, a court could order the person sold to another buyer or declare them...

Clause 14 permitted an enslaved person alleged to have been wantonly punished or confined to testify in the trial of the person accused of that abuse. In that specific setting the witness did not need...

Clause 15 authorized justices to investigate reports that an enslaved person had been improperly punished or confined, and to arrange an allowance during an inquiry. But if officials judged the...

Clause 19 required the Provost Marshal to keep captured runaways in custody, post their names at the courthouse, and advertise their names and owners—or physical descriptions if owners were unknown—in...

Clause 20 directed magistrates to investigate when someone jailed as a runaway claimed to be free. If the justices found the claim credible, they had to release the person; if not, they could remand...

Clause 24 prescribed punishment for an enslaved person who remained away for more than six months: hard labor or transportation for life, depending on magistrates’ judgment. For shorter absences, it...

Clause 25 allowed justices to issue warrants to search houses occupied by enslaved people for fugitives or people suspected of sheltering them. Searches could occur by day or night after notice to the...

Clause 28 prohibited enslaved people from beating drums or using other loud instruments for diversion after ten at night, while penalizing owners who knowingly permitted it. Clause 33 separately...