The death penalty was a sanction for a long list of non-violent crimes: criticizing the king, stealing a loaf of bread. Slavery, of course, was the preferred labor-saving device, and cruelty was a popular form of entertainment. Perhaps the most vivid example was the practice of cat burning, in which a cat was hoisted on a stage and lowered in a sling into a fire, and the spectators shrieked in laughter as the cat, howling in pain, was burned to death.
Smrt je bila kazna za čitav niz nenasilnih zločina: kritiziranje kralja, krađu kruha. Ropstvo je, naravno, bilo omiljen način uštede na radnoj snazi, a okrutnost je bila popularan oblik zabave. Možda je najzorniji primjer praksa paljenja mačaka, kada bi mačku objesili na pozornici i spustili u vatru, a publika bi vrištala od smijeha dok bi mačka, zavijajući od boli, bila spaljena na smrt.