Punishment In The Twelve Tables example essay topic

CL 132: History of Rome 1. Punishment in the Twelve Tables The Twelve Tables (449 BCE) was the first written law of Rome. Its creation emphasized and was an extension of structure and regulation in Roman society. To enforce its laws, severe yet simple punishments exist within the Twelve Tables. (In most cases, citizens observe law only in the presence of its consequences.) Because the severity of illegal behavior varies (for instance from theft to murder), the Twelve Tables includes different forms of punishment to inflict upon lawbreakers. Penalties in the Twelve Tables are logically formulated and incorporate a system of values reflecting Roman society.

The fact that Romans organized their law in a written document indicates a more deeply rooted societal organization. There are twenty-six separate punishments written into the Twelve Tables. Each is described in detail and falls into at least one of six categories of punishment: corporal abuse, capital punishment, enslavement, imprisonment, fines, and repair / replacement of a damaged good. The latter four categories are self-explanatory; corporal abuse includes flogging (scourging) and binding the offender in stocks or fetters. Finally, Romans practice many, many forms of capital punishment, including hanging, death by sacrifice, burning at the stake, and throwing the offender down from the Tarpeia n Rock, located on the Capitoline Hill. (L&R p. 113) Different forms of punishment exist for two reasons: first, to penalize the criminal correspondingly to his crime, and second, to allow for less or more severe punishments depending on the age or social status of the criminal.

Punishment in the Twelve Tables seems to 'fit the crime' - that is, punishments are predominately just and deserved. For example, "a usurer is condemned for quadruple amount". (Table V ) This is a logical penalty for a usurer, who lends money at an excessively high rate of interest; the punishment mirrors the crime. A similar example is "if a person has maimed another's limb, let there be retaliation in kind unless he makes agreement for settlement with him".

(Table V ) This penalty is fair in two senses: first in its concept of 'an eye for an eye;' second, and more importantly, in that it presents an opportunity for settlement between the victim and offender. A number of punishments in the Twelve Tables allow the victim to interpret the punishment or to use his own discretion with regard to its severity. For example, a creditor is given the choice to "bind [the debtor] either in stocks or in fetters". Furthermore, he "may bind [the debtor] with a weight no more than fifteen pounds, or with less if he shall so desire". (Table ) The most frequent case in which discretion is offered is the penalizing of a juvenile. However, here the praetor establishes the parameters of an appropriate punishment instead of the victim of the crime: for stealing, "boys under the age of puberty should, at the praetor's discretion, be flogged, and the damage done by them should be repaired".

(Table V ) These inclusions of potential alternate penalties show a more humane side of the Romans. Additions to penalties occur when Roman logic sees fit. In the case of theft, for example, the law allots extra punishments for slaves - this makes perfect sense due to their bottom ranking in Roman society. A freeman caught in the act of theft is flogged. A slave, however, is not only flogged but also receives capital punishment: "slaves caught in the act of theft should be flogged and thrown down from the Rock".

(Table V ) The ruthlessness shown to a slave in comparison to a freeman is justified in the eye of Roman law due to social structure in Roman society. Paying attention to detail is another Roman trait that exists throughout the Twelve Tables. The Twelve Tables go into great detail in defining punishments and all extenuating circumstances which could exist: "Any person who destroys by burning any building or heap of corn deposited alongside a house shall be bound, scourged, and put to death by burning at the stake, provided that he has committed the said misdeed with malice aforethought; but if he shall have committed it by accident, that is, by negligence, it is ordained that he repair the damage, or, if he be too poor to be competent for such punishment, he shall receive a lighter chastisement". (Table V ) This law includes not only punishment if the crime was committed intentionally, but names a penalty in the case that it was accidental. Even further, the law says what to do in the case that the lawbreaker is too poor to fulfill the standard punishment.

Roman society was completely dominated by male authority figures, so it is not coincidental that there is no mention of punishment for women in the Twelve Tables. When specified, the laws only mention 'freemen' and 'boys under the age of puberty,' and all pronouns in the document are masculine (he, his, him... ) 'Slaves' is not gender-specific, but inferred to be male because of the surrounding pronouns. Like Roman society, punishment in the Twelve Tables is structured. Punishments are explicitly defined, and executed according to specified procedures. The social hierarchy of Rome is also incorporated into punishment, as different penalties apply to slaves than to freemen than to juveniles.

Socially, the Twelve Tables helped moderate the patricians' penchant for legally abusing the plebeians, representing a small relinquish of power from the patricians to the plebeians.