Death penalty for small theft
January 23, 2009 6:11 AM Subscribe
"Must the maid hang?" -- death penalty quote
Hanging used to be the penalty for any theft, even if a mother stole a loaf of bread to feed her children (see Les Miserables).
Then someone (perhaps John Dryden) seriously asked "Must the maid hang for stealing a loaf of bread?" Merely asking the question (at the right moment) made it self-evident that this was unjust.
Does anyone have the source of this probably mangled quote?
Hanging used to be the penalty for any theft, even if a mother stole a loaf of bread to feed her children (see Les Miserables).
Then someone (perhaps John Dryden) seriously asked "Must the maid hang for stealing a loaf of bread?" Merely asking the question (at the right moment) made it self-evident that this was unjust.
Does anyone have the source of this probably mangled quote?
This thread is closed to new comments.
Reference to it here.
posted by rottytooth at 10:55 AM on January 23, 2009