Various cases for rape, physical abuse and murder were prosecuted in court. Women, although usually having fewer rights by custom, were allowed to level civil and criminal charges against men. While suspects were jailed, convicted criminals were never imprisoned. Instead, punishments were commonly monetary fines, periods of forced hard labor for convicts, and the penalty of death by beheading. Early Han punishments of torturous mutilation were borrowed from Qin law. A series of reforms abolished mutilation punishments with progressively less-severe beatings by the bastinado. COUNT 5
QSN1 What type of torture was acquired from Qin law? ANS1 mutilation QSN2 What eventually replaced torturous mutilation as a type of punishment? ANS2 progressively less-severe beatings QSN3 What could a criminal in this era expect not to happen if he was convicted of a crime? ANS3 criminals were never imprisoned QSN4 What type of extreme punishment was likely to be laid upon those who committed the harshest of crimes? ANS4 death by beheading QSN5 What did women commonly have less of? ANS5 rights