I recently read a book on capital punishment through the years, and pickpocketing got so bad in the middle ages that it was punished by death. Every week the ca

I recently read a book on capital punishment through the years, and pickpocketing got so bad in the middle ages that it was punished by death. Every week the cart would bring the condemmed pickpockets through the street. The criminals would jeer at the crowd, the crowd would cheer and pick favorites. The soon-to-die would make a big speech before their death, often bawdy and unrepentant. All the while, more pickpockets were working the celebration, making their living.