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xaq_the_aereonWell, sorta.
This was an idea I had earlier today for a sort of medieval story setting. It involved 2 things; the setup of a certain kingdom's government, and its judicial system.
The government for this country was set up in a bit of a triumvirate. 3 individuals making the big decisions.
The first of these 3 was, of course, the king. The only one of the three not elected, making decisions based on what he felt was best for the country.
The second was the Prime Chancellor, the leader of the Senate, who are elected by the people, commoner and aristocrat alike, to speak on their behalf to the triumvirate.
The third was the High Priest, chosen from among the highest church officials, who spoke on their behalf. His decisions were based on his interpretations of the divine teachings and messages from the oracles.
Naturally, this kind of setup could inspire some worry, particularly with the Senate. How could the people know their elected officials were working on their behalf, and not on that of whoever had them stuffed in their pocket?
The simple answer: Crimes of corruption amongst anyone in the government...including the Triumvirate...were treated the same as grand theft, murder, rape, and other capital offenses. The sentence if convicted of any of these crimes was the same no matter what: death.
Trials of these matters were held publicly, for the whole kingdom to witness. The accused was held on a platform connected to a large scale. The jury for these trials? Everyone. The entire kingdom, of adult age, would decide the accused's fate, by means of a ballot.
After the trial's completion, everyone would line up to cast their vote by way of a specially made, specifically weighted style of coin. They would take it, hold it out in front of them all the way to the platform (to verify to all that they only had the one and that it was the same one they'd been given), where they would stick their arm into a covered hole with two slots on either side at the end. Deposit the coin in the left slot for Guilty, right for Not Guilty.
These slots channeled the coins down to the scale, putting weight on one side or the other. If a certain amount of weight, akin to 1/3 of the adult population of the kingdom as per the last annual census, were to land on the Not Guilty side, the mechanism would undo the prisoner's binding and he/she would be free to go. If twice that amount, amounting to a 2/3 majority vote, came down on the Guilty side, the platform would deposit them straight to their sentence. No waiting, no stays of execution, just swift dispensation of justice. Even the King, Prime Chancellor, and High Priest were not immune to this, and even a unanimous choice by the Triumvirate could not change this process, as it was set down in this kingdom's charter as one of its immutable, absolute laws.
I really ought to try putting these ideas to an actual story some time. :/
This was an idea I had earlier today for a sort of medieval story setting. It involved 2 things; the setup of a certain kingdom's government, and its judicial system.
The government for this country was set up in a bit of a triumvirate. 3 individuals making the big decisions.
The first of these 3 was, of course, the king. The only one of the three not elected, making decisions based on what he felt was best for the country.
The second was the Prime Chancellor, the leader of the Senate, who are elected by the people, commoner and aristocrat alike, to speak on their behalf to the triumvirate.
The third was the High Priest, chosen from among the highest church officials, who spoke on their behalf. His decisions were based on his interpretations of the divine teachings and messages from the oracles.
Naturally, this kind of setup could inspire some worry, particularly with the Senate. How could the people know their elected officials were working on their behalf, and not on that of whoever had them stuffed in their pocket?
The simple answer: Crimes of corruption amongst anyone in the government...including the Triumvirate...were treated the same as grand theft, murder, rape, and other capital offenses. The sentence if convicted of any of these crimes was the same no matter what: death.
Trials of these matters were held publicly, for the whole kingdom to witness. The accused was held on a platform connected to a large scale. The jury for these trials? Everyone. The entire kingdom, of adult age, would decide the accused's fate, by means of a ballot.
After the trial's completion, everyone would line up to cast their vote by way of a specially made, specifically weighted style of coin. They would take it, hold it out in front of them all the way to the platform (to verify to all that they only had the one and that it was the same one they'd been given), where they would stick their arm into a covered hole with two slots on either side at the end. Deposit the coin in the left slot for Guilty, right for Not Guilty.
These slots channeled the coins down to the scale, putting weight on one side or the other. If a certain amount of weight, akin to 1/3 of the adult population of the kingdom as per the last annual census, were to land on the Not Guilty side, the mechanism would undo the prisoner's binding and he/she would be free to go. If twice that amount, amounting to a 2/3 majority vote, came down on the Guilty side, the platform would deposit them straight to their sentence. No waiting, no stays of execution, just swift dispensation of justice. Even the King, Prime Chancellor, and High Priest were not immune to this, and even a unanimous choice by the Triumvirate could not change this process, as it was set down in this kingdom's charter as one of its immutable, absolute laws.
I really ought to try putting these ideas to an actual story some time. :/
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Date: 3/21/11 01:05 (UTC)May not seem like much to us, but in a medieval setting, particularly one where times were somewhat hard and trials like these were fairly common, that'd be a hell of an incentive.
...And yes, I suppose that would make the queues for casting a vote qualify as "bread lines."