Vickipedia

PAINS AND PENALTIES. When a person has committed some crime of peculiar enormity, and for which no adequate punishment is provided by the ordinary law, the mode of proceeding is by introducing a bill of pains and penalties, the object of which, therefore, is to inflict a punishment of an extraordinary and anomalous kind. These bills are now seldom resorted to, and the last instance of an attempt to revive such a form of punishment was by the ministers of George IV. against Queen Caroline, an attempt which was signally defeated. When a bill of this kind is resolved upon, it is introduced, and passes through all the stages like any other bill in parliament, except that the party proceeded against is allowed to defend himself or herself by counsel and witnesses. The proceeding is substantially an indictment, though in form a bill.