Part of HistoryCrime and punishmentYear 3Year 4
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Watch this video to find out how crime was punished in Ancient Rome.
BELLS RING
DRUMS SOUND
Man: Stealing from the temple, eh? Seize him, but keep him alive. I want to take him to the magistrate.
Magistrate: What is he accused of?
Temple owner: This man was found to be stealing from my temple. We caught him trying to sneak out with the offerings to Jupiter. It鈥檚 all here in the temple records.
Magistrate: What do you have to say for yourself?
Man: I鈥檓 sorry, I just wanted to improve my family鈥檚 life. I had to leave the army due to my injuries.
Magistrate: But stealing from a temple is like stealing from the gods.
Temple owner: Give him the worst punishment possible. If news spreads that stealing from a temple gets a light punishment, they鈥檒l all try it.
Magistrate: Your guilt is obvious. I sentence you to pay the temple three times the value of the stolen offerings.
Man: There鈥檚 no way I can afford that. I don鈥檛 have any money.
Magistrate: If you can鈥檛 afford the punishment then the only other option is death.
Man: No!
Magistrate: But which punishment? Pouring hot lead down your throat? No, that鈥檚 a waste of good metal. I sentence you to be pushed from a cliff.
With over one million people living there, Rome was a dirty and dangerous place, with a maze of side-streets and slums.
There were many of the same crimes as today, such as murder and theft.
The Roman system of law and punishment is the basis of many laws that we still use today.
Wearing purple was against the law unless you were super rich!
There was no police force in Roman times but they did have a group called the Vigiles.
There were about 7000 Vigiles, who dealt with criminals.
If the Vigiles couldn't deal with some crimes, they would call in Roman guards to help.
The Praetorian Guard, were a special force who protected the Emperor.
The Roman God of Justice was called Justitia.
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