If anyone should release a person accused of another crime than theft, he shall received a hundred lashes in like manner; and if he cannot find or produce the party he liberated, he shall at once suffer the same punishment to which the law declares the accused would have been liable, had he been found guilty. If a slave should commit this offence, without his master’s knowledge, he shall receive two hundred lashes for his insolence, and shall be compelled to produce the person whom he released. If he should not produce him, then his master, should he wish to do so, may pay for him the sum demanded as compensation for the crime; but if he should be unwilling to pay said sum as provided by law, he must surrender the slave in satisfaction for damages, or to be punished.
ANCIENT LAW.
XXI. Where a Slave Steals from his Master, or from a Fellow-Slave.
If a slave should steal anything from his master or from his fellow-slave, what shall be done with him lies entirely in the discretion of his master; and the judge has no right to interfere in the matter, unless the master should wish him to do so.[39]
ANCIENT LAW.
XXII. Within what Time, after his Arrest, a Thief must be Brought Before the Judge.
When anyone arrests a thief, or any other criminal, he must straightway conduct him before the judge; and he must not keep him in his house longer than one day, or one night. If anyone should violate this provision, he shall be forced to pay five solidi to the judge for his insolence. If a slave should do this, without the knowledge of his master, he shall receive a hundred lashes, but if he should do it with the master’s consent, all liability for damages shall be incurred by the latter. If the slave is of superior rank, his master shall be compelled to pay a fine of ten solidi, half of which sum shall belong to the judge, and the other half shall be given to him who is known to have suffered the injury.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
XXIII. Where Anyone Secretly Kills an Animal Belonging to Another.
If anyone should, secretly or at night, kill a horse, an ox, or any other kind of animal belonging to another, he shall be compelled to pay ninefold the value of the same. If it is not possible to convict him, he shall purge himself of guilt publicly, by oath. Where a slave commits such an offence, under the direction of his master, and this is proved by competent evidence; the master of the slave shall be compelled to make restitution ninefold, as a thief would have done. If a slave should not be convicted by testimony, he shall be tortured; and after it has been established that he committed the crime, he shall either pay sixfold the value of the animal killed, or shall be transferred to the service of him whom he injured. If, however, he should prove to be innocent, the complainant shall render satisfaction to the master of the slave, as provided by other laws.