Deuteronomy 19:20

Things. This is the design of penal laws, to render justice to the innocent, and to prevent the spreading of a contagious evil, by cutting off the hopes of impunity. (Grotius, Jur. ii. 10. 9.) --- "I would cause the criminal's throat to be cut, says Seneca, (de Ira ii.) with the same countenance and mind as I kill serpents and venomous animals."