The Stolen Flour

A starving mother stole flour from a royal relief shipment bound for the capital.

Chapter I: The Account

The Facts

A famine grips the capital; this shipment is the only relief.

The defendant, Elara, was caught stealing one sack of flour.

She is a widow with two starving children.

She confessed immediately.

The Full Account

A biting famine has seized the capital, Your Majesty. The faces of your people are gaunt with hunger. In response, you dispatched a royal convoy carrying precious flour, the city's last hope until the next harvest. As this vital shipment passed through a small village, the defendant, a widow named Elara, was apprehended. Under the weight of her children's hunger, she broke past the guards and stole a single sack. She did not resist arrest, confessing at once that desperation alone drove her to the crime.

Chapter II: The Arguments

Accuser:

Captain Valerius of the Royal Guard

Your Majesty, if her crime is met with a soft hand, others will see it as an invitation. A hundred thefts will follow, the relief will never reach the city, and thousands will starve because of it. We must establish a clear precedent. A harsh punishment ensures the survival of the many and shows that the Crown’s lifeline is untouchable.

Defendant:

Elara, a village widow

I did not steal for gold, but for bread to feed my children. My crime was one of desperation, not defiance. I beg you, Your Majesty, to judge the circumstances of the act, not just the act itself. Is the role of a King to punish suffering, or to understand it?

Chapter III: Your Deliberation

Your Majesty, do you make an example of this woman to ensure order and the security of the state, or do you show compassion for the desperate individual?

0 deliberating

533 judged

The Rulers' Verdicts

See how 533 rulers have judged this case

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