Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla

Template:Short description Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla was a Roman politician. He served as consul in 127 BC and censor at the following lustrum in 125 BC.Template:Sfn

His first recorded office was that of tribune of the plebs in 137 BC.Template:Sfn As a tribune of the plebs, he successfully proposed in the concilium plebis a law to introduce secret ballot for all trials before the Assemblies except those related to perduellio (treason); the bill was supported by Scipio Aemilianus but opposed by the then-consul Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Porcina and his tribunician colleague Marcus Antius Briso.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

He served in the praetorship some time before 130 BC,Template:Sfn and was elected to the consulship for 127 BC with Lucius Cornelius Cinna.Template:Sfn After his consulship, he was elected as censor for 125 BC with Gnaeus Servilius Caepio; during their censorship, they constructed the Aqua Tepula and named Publius Cornelius Lentulus as princeps senatus.Template:Sfn

He was renowned for severity as a iudex and gained fame for formulating the question "Cui bono?" ("Who benefits?") as a principle of criminal investigation.Template:Sfn In 113 BC, he was appointed special prosecutor in the case of three Vestal Virgins accused of unchastity under a law passed by one of the tribunes that year.Template:Sfn He condemned and put to death two of them – who had been acquitted by the pontifex maximus, Lucius Caecilius Metellus Delmaticus – as well as the men involved; doing so, however, incurred for him some suspicion of political bias.Template:Sfn

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