Caught Red-HandedThe bloody proof required by medieval courts
From the show
History of PhrasesDiscover the grim legal standards of 15th-century Scotland where circumstantial evidence was rarely enough to convict a poacher. The phrase originated as a specific statutory requirement: a thief could only be prosecuted if found with the animal's blood still staining their skin. This literal stain of guilt transformed into our modern expression for undeniable discovery.
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