What is Horse theft?
'''Horse theft''' is the [[crime]] of stealing a [[horse]]. A person [[wikt:accuse|accuse]]d of stealing a horse is known as a '''horse thief'''. Horse theft was fairly common throughout the world prior to widespread [[car]] ownership. [[Punishment]]s were often [[wikt:severe|severe]] for horse theft. In several places the [[Sentence (law)|sentence]] [[death penalty|of death]] was carried out.<ref name=Miller1034>''The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An Encyclopedia'', ed. Wilbur R. Miller (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2012), p. 1034</ref> This was seen as a [[Deterrence (legal)|deterrent]] against horse theft.<ref name=Miller1034/> Death for an [[agricultural]] crime such as horse theft is seen as inhumane under most modern systems of law.<ref name=Miller1034/> Horse theft is an uncommon crime today.<ref>Jonathon Green, ''Crooked Talk: Five Hundred Years of the Language of Crime'' (London: Random House, 2011), p. 98</ref> == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Theft]] {{politics-stub}}