Court of Historical Law: Draco

A bewigged judge opens the Court of Historical Law and hands the prosecution to Draco, the ancient Athenian lawmaker, whose defendant Seth is accused of taking a single apple from an orchard. Every time Seth changes his story to wriggle free, first insisting he never touched the fruit and then claiming he was simply doing nothing, Draco consults his code and finds a fresh offence, from trespassing to idleness, that also carries the death penalty. Once the guards haul Seth away, a satisfied Draco tucks into the evidence, until the judge mentions whose apple it actually was.

Draco's written code for Athens, traditionally dated to 621/620 BC, made death the penalty even for minor offences such as stealing a cabbage; the word "draconian" comes from his name.