John Steitz <john.steitz@gmail.com> said: >Six imprisonment for manslaughter verses Death by hanging for stealing sheep. >Quite a statement about the social conditions of the time. I guess one less >Irishman was not much of a debt to society but a few stolen sheep was a big >deal to the British Landlords. That was my conclusion. See http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~aherns/ahcrim.htm#transport for a list of Aherns sentenced for various offenses. For example, there are two different James Aherns in Cork Assizes, one sentenced to 7 years transportation for stealing sheep in 1839, and another in 1844 who got two years in prison (not transported) for stealing a woman. What does that say about relative value? The latter one is an interesting case of abduction for marriage which was thwarted by the victim's family. For details, see http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~aherns/ahnws184.htm#07/08/1844 -dja