Quintus Pedius on the fate of the assassins

Senators,

When I first learned of my great uncle’s death, I was deeply saddened. But when I learned how and by whose hands he was slain, I was filled with rage. My only thoughts were of revenge. I believed that these conspirators, these assassins, should be made to feel the same fear, the same pain that my great uncle felt moments before he died. I believed these men should be killed, as they had taken another’s life. I believed their bodies should be thrown into the Tiber, which was not outrageous as some of them wanted Caesar’s body to be thrown into the river, because they had acted as criminals.

But as the days passed, the anger turned into grief. I began to think differently about the fates of these so-called liberators. At my great uncle’s funeral, for which I thank you, Senators, for allowing his family to have, I watched my family mourn the loss of our beloved Caesar. And as I watched my family weep, I knew I could not argue for the deaths of any more men. No one else should have to die. No more families should have to fight for the right to have a funeral. No more wives should have to mourn the loss of their husband, nor should children have to mourn the loss of their father because of the actions of a few stupid, cowardly men.

So I propose a fair trial for these conspirators. Let them face a court of their peers and be put on display for the world to see. And let them truly face justice. And, if they are found guilty, which surely they will be, for I have faith in our courts, let them be known as traitors, murderers, and ex-patriots wherever they should go for the rest of their lives. For truly that is a fate worse than death.

(Sorry the font was so huge in the last post, I'm technologically challenged.)