Mervin Touchet (1588 - 1631)

Mervin Touchet

Sir Mervin Touchet, 2nd Earl Castelhaven was an English nobleman and politician, member of the English Parliament.

He became famous and is long remembered in English society for being the first and only English lord to be sentenced to death on the scaffold for a charge unrelated to politics. His wife and son accused him of sodomy with servants and rape. For jurists, this case is important primarily because it sets a precedent for a woman who is the victim of a crime to testify against her husband.