On the record
The trial by compurgators was one in which, if the accused could bring twelve of his neighbors, who would make oath that they believed him innocent, he was held to be so.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “The trial by compurgators was one in which, if the accused could bring twelve of his neighbors, who would make oath that…”
Editor's note · Context
This describes a historical legal practice where an accused person could be acquitted based on the oaths of their neighbors.
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More from Lysander Spooner
They are every day committing errors, which would be crimes, but for their ignorance of the law.
It would be a solecism and absurdity in government to allow such consequences as these.
When two men meet one upon the highway, or in the wilderness, have they a right to dispose of his life, liberty, or property at their pleasure, simply because they are the more numerous party?
If the authority be vested in the government, the governmnt is absolute, and the people have no liberties except such as the government sees fit to indulge them with.