Ironically what you describe is Sippenhaft in German. If you got on the government’s bad side your family was arrested too. Full circle I guess.
Collective punishment is seen as evil in Anglo-Saxon individualistic law. Yet it shows up everywhere, including in the US military (a unit is punished for one dumb private's mistakes), laws of war (collateral damage, embargoes, etc), politics, etc. It's simply a human behavior that's rooted in genetics.
Mosaic law commands punishment only for the guilty, notwithstanding animal sacrifice, though God and nature have more flexibility. Where can I read Anglo-Saxon individualistic law? Is there an Anglo-Saxon book of Leviticus I can read?
That is ridiculous. The Old Testament is filled with stories of the Israelites killing every man, woman, child, and livestock. The firstborn of every Egyptian was killed for the "sins" of the Pharoh. It is one long tale of sanctified collective punishment, whether it's done by or to jews.
As for old Anglo saxon law, there's plenty of written records if you want to look it up.
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