A Philosophical and Law Approach of Death Penalty in Ancient Rome

Abstract

The article constitutes an attempt to analyze the regulations behind death penalty during the period of ancient Rome, as well as an attempt to answer the question of whether there was a system of punishments in ancient Rome. A synthesis of considerations concerning death penalty based on legal and non-legal sources of ancient Roman philosophers and jurists allows to conclude that Roman criminal law did not include definitions of some terms such as “criminal law”, “criminal trial” or “death penalty”. At that time, death penalty was regarded as one of the necessary elements of the law in force, however, no uniform system of punishments has been developed. The indicated Roman philosophers and jurists in their works synthesized and assessed the punishments that awaited those who broke the law as well as the methods of their implementation. After all, each of them hierarchized the penalties, as well as the methods of their enforcement in an individual manner. In ancient countries, death penalty played a significant role, aroused a sense of fear and anxiety in the public space, caused people to abide by the legal order, and at the same time prevented criminals from repeating prohibited acts.