Therefore, her daughter killing her was not murder, but legitimate vengeance and so the daughter couldn’t be found guilty of parricide. However, the violence of the vengeance, and the fact that killing a parent was always, always wrong in Roman eyes, meant that nor could she be acquitted of parricide. She was, she admitted, guilty but equally she was morally not guilty. This is where a charge of manslaughter or second degree murder or really any abstract concept would have come in handy, but alas the Romans weren’t keen on such things. As the woman couldn’t be condemned and couldn’t be
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