4G

Any thoughts on hanging for theft and what happened to Tom’s brother?

Tom's brother got caught stealing in order to support his Tom and he got caught and was hanged. Sounds like a vicious thing to do to a young boy.

Sounds brutal and cruel especially to such young people in particular. But I was talking to my husband about that because he's read a lot of history. He said in those days they had to be harsh with the people who stole because there were so many desperate people around. If they weren't harsh, everyone would do it and things would become chaos.

it seems extreme but then we're talking about the same legal system that deported a widow with 2 young sons. At a minimum, they could have been kept together somehow

All I can say is that I'm glad I didn't live in those days. >3 gaylebutz: That's interesting and in many ways makes a lot of sense. Still glad I wasn't there:)

It was barbaric, whatever excuse you lay upon it.
It was also obscene that the fat Prince (and many dissipate members of the upper classes) were leading such wasteful lives, without a care to cost, when at the other end of society people were living in rags and filth and hunger and being legally killed for stealing a morsel of food to keep body and soul together.
For shame!

Barbaric times, when life was cheap, especially of the ordinary person on the street. So many who should be beyond ashamed of themselves. Fancy doing that!