Editing Capital punishment (section)

===Ancient Rome===
The [[Twelve Tables]], the body of laws handed down from archaic Rome, prescribe the death penalty for a variety of crimes including libel, arson and theft.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Melusky |first1=Joseph Anthony |title=Capital punishment |last2=Pesto |first2=Keith A. |date=2011 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-1-4408-0057-3 |series=Historical guides to controversial issues in America |location=Santa Barbara, Calif |page=8}}</ref> During the [[Late Republic]], there was consensus among the public and legislators to reduce the incidence of capital punishment. This opinion led to [[voluntary exile]] being prescribed in place of the death penalty, whereby a convict could either choose to leave in exile or face execution.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bauman |first=Richard A. |title=Crime and Punishment in Ancient Rome |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2002 |isbn=9781134823949 |location=New York |pages=6–7 |language=en}}</ref>

A historic debate, followed by a vote, took place in the [[Roman Senate]] to decide the fate of [[Catiline]]'s allies when he attempted to seize power in December, 63 BC. Cicero, then [[Roman consul]], argued in support of the killing of conspirators without judgment by decision of the Senate ([[Senatus consultum ultimum]]) and was supported by the majority of senators; among the minority voices opposed to the execution, the most notable was [[Julius Caesar]].<ref>{{cite journal| url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/3306244| title = Freedom and Slavery in Roman Law| jstor = 3306244| last1 = Shumway| first1 = Edgar S.| journal = The American Law Register | year = 1901| volume = 49| issue = 11| pages = 636–653| doi = 10.2307/3306244|issn = 1558-3562}}</ref> The custom was different for [[peregrini|foreigners]] who did not hold rights as [[Roman citizenship|Roman citizen]]s, and especially for slaves, who were transferrable property.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

[[Crucifixion]] was a form of punishment first employed by the Romans against [[Slavery in ancient Rome#Rebellions|slaves who rebelled]], and throughout the Republican era was [[Slavery in ancient Rome#Crucifixion|reserved for slaves]], [[latrocinium|bandits]], and [[Law of majestas|traitors]]. Intended to be a punishment, a humiliation, and a deterrent, the condemned could take up to a few days to die. Corpses of the crucified were typically left on the crosses to decompose and to be eaten by animals.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mercaba.org/FICHAS/upsa/crucifixion.htm|title=Crucifixion in Antiquity: The Evidence|last=Zias|first=Joseph|date=1998|website=www.mercaba.org|access-date=25 September 2023}}</ref>