united-states contract-law australia
Do capital felons have the capacity to enter in a legal contract?
<p><a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/6263/what-is-a-contract-and-what-is-required-for-them-to-be-valid/6264#6264">In an answer to another question</a>, it is stated that capital felons don't have the legal capacity to enter into a legal binding agreement.</p>

<p>I think that is wrong because otherwise they could not buy food, buy anything, go to a restaurant, etc. Those are also contracts.</p>

<p>Is this true or possibly different between several jurisdictions?</p>

<p><a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&amp;sectionNum=1556" rel="nofollow noreferrer">California Civil Code section 1556</a> states "All persons are capable of contracting, except minors, persons of unsound mind, and persons deprived of civil rights", so that would go beyond just capital felons. Montana <a href="http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0280/chapter_0020/part_0020/section_0010/0280-0020-0020-0010.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">says the same thing</a>, as does <a href="https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title29/t29ch1/sect29-101/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Idaho</a> and <a href="http://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/Codified_Laws/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&amp;Statute=53-2-1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">South Dakota</a>. Oklahoma law (<a href="http://www.oklegislature.gov/osstatuestitle.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">15 O.S. §11</a>) is a bit more complex</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>All persons are capable of contracting, except minors, persons of
  unsound mind, and persons deprived of civil rights, however, persons
  sentenced to imprisonment under the Department of Corrections for any
  term, during confinement under said sentence, may make employment
  contracts, subject to the approval of the Director of the Department
  of Corrections, when this benefits the vocational training or release
  preparation of the prisoner; provided however, such persons during
  confinement shall not be eligible to receive benefits under the
  unemployment compensation law.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>There may be jurisdictional differences: I can't find any statutory provision along these lines for Washington state. It <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=VmEaAAAAYAAJ&amp;pg=PA31&amp;lpg=PA31&amp;dq=%22All%20persons%20are%20capable%20of%20contracting,%20except%22&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=gPP6fcyQ9x&amp;sig=Y8CSbEMQ8N-MBw7rCGmlN7YVpbQ&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjQ8dOo75zZAhUE7GMKHTY7BNQQ6AEIRjAI#v=onepage&amp;q=%22All%20persons%20are%20capable%20of%20contracting%2C%20except%22&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">used to be true in Oregon</a>, but I don't know if this has survived. It is <em>not</em> true in <a href="https://www.lawserver.com/law/state/north-dakota/nd-code/north_dakota_code_9_02_01" rel="nofollow noreferrer">North Dakota</a>, which excluded those deprived of civil rights from its law.</p>

<p>Australia does not have capital felons because  we don’t have the death penalty. Additionally, felons in Australia do not lose any legal capacity (voting, contracting etc) <em>except</em> while they are imprisoned.</p>

<p>With respect to capital felons in the US, they are either in prison awaiting execution (in which case their legal identity is subsumed by the state) or dead (a state in which no one has legal capacity).</p>

<p>To clear up a little of the above: </p>

<p>An individual stating that capital felons - or any other felon, automatically - is barred from entering into legally binding contracts is an individual who is misinformed. </p>

<p>A judge may, as a term of probation or parole (for a non-capital felon, obviously), add such prohibitions against the individual. In fairness, though, a capital felon likely would never be buying food or going to a restaurant. A capital felon would be in prison. </p>

<p>That said, as @NateEldredge points out, the notion that an individual's identity is "subsumed by the state" is without merit. </p>
