Any way to fix the justice system's beatings killing the "offender" without annoying micromanagement?

[Micromanicment]

After ignoring dwarves being killed every so often because I was busy with other stuff, I now tried to find the reason.
Aaand every one of my dead dwarves has been killed by guards for not producing a mandated item. I shortly looked into how to fix this absurd "fun", but when I read as top advice stuff like "quickly assign a helmet to the dwarf before they receive the beating" or "employ only guards that are particularly weak" to *increase the chance* for a beating to be survivable... puh.

Is there a *sane* way to handle this? Maybe a dfhack command or mod to limit the damage to reasonable levels?

[Fel]

Have a jail with plenty of ropes/chains built there.
A beating is the result of not being able to properly imprison the offender (outside of a few cases where the hammerer delivers a beating that is supposed to be close to death penalty).

Weak captain of the guards (and guards if you even use them) armed with a very light warhammer is an alternative if you don't want the jail.

Failing to produce whatever your noble(s) demand usually results in half a year in jail for a dwarf (often a random one).
Since you know what the noble is going to ask for ahead of time (sometimes there are two different possible items but usually only one), you can set a work order to produce 1 or 2 of that item, repeated monthly.
Assuming the noble in question is the one you picked as a barron when the liaison asked, you were able to pick a dwarf after looking through them all (press escape when the liaison ask to temporarily "pause" the conversation, pause the game and look through the preferences of your dwarves).

[Micromanicment]

@Fel
But aren't beatings still dished out with a jail around? I thought jail is supposed to be the more severe punishment, and lesser crimes will "only" result in a (potentially fatal) beating?

In that regard, won't using extra-weak guards bite me further along the line? I would expect that at some point guards would actually need (or at least benefit from) martial training, to do their job properly.

@natsukashinoneko
That sounds like an easy solution indeed. But, well, maybe that is a stupid question, isn't the justice system supposed to actually do anything? Like prevent crime and such - or is there really no actual benefit?

[Fel]

Some dwarves will get unhappy if crimes are not punished, and it's the guards that are supposed to handle things like interrogating people for more complex crimes (caused by vampires or visitors for example).

If you look at the justice screen you will see the sentences, failing a production order from a noble is always jail time, same for violating an export ban.
I'm not sure what would result in a beating by a guard (and not a hammerer) if you have a proper jail with enough space for the criminals.

[Micromanicment]

It seems the "Captain of the Guard" position can't be left vacant after one has been appointed, so I'm glad to hear that a jail is a straightforward solution.

Thanks, this helps a lot. :)

[RadCon One]

Originally posted by Micromanicment:

@Fel
But aren't beatings still dished out with a jail around? I thought jail is supposed to be the more severe punishment, and lesser crimes will "only" result in a (potentially fatal) beating?

In that regard, won't using extra-weak guards bite me further along the line? I would expect that at some point guards would actually need (or at least benefit from) martial training, to do their job properly.

@natsukashinoneko
That sounds like an easy solution indeed. But, well, maybe that is a stupid question, isn't the justice system supposed to actually do anything? Like prevent crime and such - or is there really no actual benefit?

The justice system doesn't prevent crime, it and reacts to it, and an observant player can dole out their own justice as they see fit (well....as long as that justice is death/exile anyway, less extreme punishments actually require a lot more work).

[Diarmuhnd]

Originally posted by Micromanicment:

...
Is there a *sane* way to handle this? Maybe a dfhack command or mod to limit the damage to reasonable levels?

I noticed if i have empty jail cells ready and waiting then beatings happen very rarely. Whenever I did not have an empty cell waiting for the next criminal then a beating always happened.

You made no mention of your jail in your fortress.

edit: in a few forts i made opulent jail cells, 3x3 rooms with masterwork furniture (bed, table & chair) and a golden chain right in the middle. Each cell also had its own very small booze and food stockpile.
Turned my jail into a favorite vacation spot. Even other dwarfs would go and eat in the empty cells. Moral was sky high in those forts.

[vortex_13]

Appoint a hammerer with no combat skills and the "weak" trait. Then give him a wooden training weapon as his weapon. That should do it.

[TPark]

Best way in a new fort, never appoint a sheriff or Captain of the Guard.

[Necroscourge]

If you have a dungeon set up they will try to use that instead of just using hammer strikes.