The sword always made me uncomfortable, if I'm honest. It seemed to be a tool of vengeance, not justice, and striking fear in the hearts of the accused always felt to me as an unnecessary bit of cruelty. Anyone before me in a situation where the application of a sword might seem a reasonable outcome is already plenty scared. It's just overkill, if you'll pardon the pun. So one day while I was getting ready for work, I asked it, "What's the point of bringing a sword to the courthouse, anyway?" I'll admit, I was pretty surprised when it answered at all, but I was even more surprised when it asked, "Why are you so certain I'm there to frighten the accused?"