"No. In the mid seventeen eighties, Cesare Beccaria put forth the amazing proposition that torture was unethical and that confessions obtained under it might be useless. From then on, there was a general tide towards fair punishment, and actual search for the truth. The ideas were expanded upon from there; innocent until proven guilty, that human beings naturally seek to avoid punishment, etcetera. With that came the legal system we know today, of a series of perscribed punishments to be given when a full jury convicts a man, beyond all reasonable doubt."
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-09-19 10:36 pm (UTC)