Monetary Penalty Quotes
William the Conqueror. This is one of the first if not the first nationwide abolition of capital punishment in history. Ironically, the two alternatives that the abolition law allowed would both be illegal and repugnant to us today even though we allow capital punishment.
This absurd law was in existence for 22 years. But its vestiges lasted for over 100 years. It was not until the 1880s that it became fashionable to celebrate Christmas in Boston. The founding fathers were well aware of many early American laws interfering with religion and many religious laws interfering with those who did not believe a particular doctrine. The separation of church and state evolved from years of European abuses and American abuses as well.
Congress had passed special legislation making crimes at the Mint capital crimes.
This is the earliest surviving attempt of the Romans to formulate a legal code.
Mulcts were fines. This was the then common view of educated people regarding the criminal justice system and what we would consider today as barbarous punishments. Note the view that those who had money should pay fines for some crimes but those without money should have their bodies mutilated for the same crimes.
Manava Dharma Shastra. This quotation shows that even thought the Ancient Hindu king was an autocrat, even he had to live within the law, and if he transgressed his fine was one thousand times the fin of a commoner. It is not clear whether or not this principle was actually imposed and when. But unlike the Christian King who could do no wrong, the Hindu king was not above the law. This text is a part of the Hindu Holy Texts. Hindus believe that Manu was a prophet whose text is revealed or inspired.
1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor. Demands for German reparations were very popular with the British electorate at the end of World War I.
Murder was then punishable by paying a fine to the relatives of the deceased to compensate for his “value.” However, were all people to be valued alike? Alfred said, “Yes,” and the fine was fixed regardless of the ethnicity of the victim.
Essentially, the Council voted to close all the banks of the day and get rid of all the bankers. Without banking economic development of Christian (Catholic) Europe stagnated and did not thrive until the Borgia’s used their banking prowess to actually attain the Papacy. Ironically, Christians, Jews and Muslims all had banned banking—usury—the charging of interest for borrowed money—as a serious sin. To this day there are orthodox fundamentalists of all three religions who decry modern banking, but the majority of Christians and Jews no longer have any problem with banking, and while the Muslims generally still decry it as a sin, the wealthy Muslims have come up with various fig leaves where they pretend that banking us not usury, and in the modern world, although they are castigated by a mullah or two, the essence of capitalism goes on even in Muslim countries.
