FUSTURIUM, in Roman Antiquity, a method of inflicting capital punishment upon any soldier guilty of theft, desertion, or similar crimes. When the accused had been found guilty, he was made to stand in front of the legion to which he belonged. One of the tribunes then touched him lightly with a stick, and all the soldiers immediately rushed upon the criminal and beat him to death with clubs (fustes). If he escaped—as he was allowed to do if he could, but which was rarely if ever possible—he was forbidden ever to return to his native country, and his nearest relatives were not allowed to receive him into their houses. This method of capital punishment continued to be enforced even under the empire. The “animadversio fustium” differed from the “fusturium.” It was a kind of corporal chastisement inflicted upon freedmen of the lower orders, and was less severe than the flogging with flagella, which was confined to slaves.