In each Roman legion, punishment was added to each injustice done to Rome. The death penalty was rarely used in the Roman military. It was primarily used to deter desertion, mutiny, or insubordination. One form of the death penalty was decimation. In this form, every tenth man of a cohort, century, or even the legion would be randomly chosen to be clubbed or stoned to death by his fellow soldiers. This was one of the crazy things Rome did. Another form of punishment was complete legion disbandment. If a legion was disbanded, then the soldiers would not receive the typical payment of land and money. Disbandment would almost always arise because of the fear of being loyal to a political enemy of the Emperor of Rome.
(Image via ancientl)
The Roman Empire 