Corporal and Capital Punishment

[Silent Hunter UK]

I would imagine this would be a common feature of the T2K setting; with crime much more common and prison less of an option, then visible punishments to 'deter' others would be the norm.

Hanging marauders outside the settlement entrance for example. Or the use of the pillory - in history, those put in for particularly heinous crimes faced a real chance of a rock to the head.

[micromachine]

I agree with the idea, however, I can see the deprivation of shelter, reduction of rations, reduced access to luxury items (liquor, coffee, sex and smoking, etc), hard labour and explusion from the cantonment as effective tools as well.

[ChalkLine]

The pillory was originally a shaming device that metamorphosed into a torture device. There's a lot of accounts of people losing hands and feet to the pillory.

The most common crime from just post Black Death (late 1360s) to the 1600s that the pillory was used for was 'Being a Masterless Man' (this included both genders).

In this period, very much similar to the T2K period, there was no verifying a person's identity or allegiance unless they were vouched for by a person with status. Any slob just turning up at a settlement could be anyone, a spy, an arsonist ('incendiary') or other economic warfare specialist. So you were apprehended until they could find out just who exactly you were.

This is why the 'wandering adventurer' trope falls down, people have no idea who you are or what you actually want. If you had 'fame', that is word of your character, allegiances and activities preceded you it might stop you being pilloried but it definitely wouldn't get you a job.

"Move along and there won't be any trouble".

[Raellus]

Branding might make a comeback. For example, the two British soldiers convicted of manslaughter for the Boston Massacre were branded between their thumb and forefinger with the letter M, the idea being that it would be seen anytime they shook hands with someone or swore an oath- folks would know they were dealing with a convicted criminal. I've also seen references to branding on the face as well (an even more obvious mark of shame).

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