The Roman world had no official police force to do investigations, and no CPS to prosecute a case. It had no long-term prisons and no state-sponsored public defender. All it had was a self-help system that forced the families of the victims to investigate, prosecute and – sometimes – punish crimes. These tragic murders highlight two significant legal issues in Rome that we need to take a quick look at. The first is that murder was not a crime in the Roman legal system for a surprising amount of its history.
