Let the punishment fit the crime

Meaning: Penalties should be proportional and appropriate to the offense committed.

Origin: From W.S. Gilbert's libretto for The Mikado (1885); the principle appears in ancient codes including Hammurabi's.

Translations

• French: Que la punition soit à la mesure du crime (literally: Let the punishment be proportionate to the crime)
• Spanish: Que el castigo sea proporcional al delito (literally: Let the punishment be proportional to the crime)
• Japanese: 罪に見合う罰を (Tsumi ni miau batsu wo) (literally: Let the punishment be commensurate with the crime)

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