Civil death - Definition and Overview

Civil death is a term that refers to 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.

A prominent example of civil death is the "enemy combatant" designation used by the United States government, which is widely believed to violate the due process rights of designated individuals. A second example of civil death on a wide scale is the use of purges by the former Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.

Historically, the declaration of a person as an outlaw was a common form of civil death.