The Punishment of Present Day Offenders Has Elements of the Celtic and Roman Approaches

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B. The punishment of present day offenders has elements of the Celtic and Roman approaches. Today’s laws share many common factors with Celtic and Roman laws. In Celtic Britain honour amongst kinship was vital in upholding the law and those who committed an offence would lose rights and privileges and would be isolated within the community. The responsibility would fall on family and extended members of the family to enforce acceptable behaviour of its members. A crime within the community would affect all and fines were issued according to status and the ability to pay. A guarantor would be required to guarantee the payment. If the fine was not paid then the guarantor had the right to seize goods to the value of the fine. Member of the lowest caste would not have been able to pay a fine or secure a guarantor so they would lose their civil rights, be prohibited from practising a profession or being employed in any position of trust. Also they may be excluded from the participation in religious rites. Isolation within the community would be great and would act as a deterrent as the threat of exclusion was a major factor in upholding the law. As in Celtic Britain we still issue fines as a form of punishment, if fines are not paid the court can issue an order to seize the value of goods of the fine. We have community service rather than redemption by working on the land. This is a chance for the offender to redeem themselves, this very public form of punishment and is a good deterrent and the principle is that the person would feel shame within the community. Prison and community service could be considered comparable to the isolation of living in the lowest caste in Celtic Britain. Like the Celts, today we focus on rehabilitation over punishment, to get offenders integrated back into society. Britain was invaded by Rome in 43AD and after conquest

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