In this chapter, a particular form of intercession, namely snatching from the gallows, highlights how the existence of different moral codes could generate tension in society. An insistence on mercy, especially but not exclusively found in ecclesiastical discourse, conflicted with the logic of imperial law, which did foresee the death penalty for certain crimes. In recognition of this moral imperative, we see emperors recalling at the last moment from the scaffold individuals whom they had themselves condemned, whilst the people and especially monks also interrupted executions. The usually lenient way in which emperors dealt with such illegal actions shows how upholding the legal order stood in tension with the virtue that was expected of the emperor.