Gladiators fitted into the roman crime and punishment because becoming a gladiator was a form of punishment. Gladiators were one of the following 4 types of people
- Condemned criminals
- Prisoners of war
- Slaves
- or freemen who decided to become a gladiator (to get rich or famous)
One of the only crimes that made you become a gladiator was murder. Depending on who you killed you would either be executed (by crucifixion, stoning, buried alive or beheaded) or you would be forced to fight to the death, against someone. If you were forced to fight to the death in the arena, then 1 of 2 things could happen, you would either be killed, or you could be lucky and kill your opponent. however if you did manage to win, your ordeal still wouldn't be over as you would have to do it over and over again until you became so popular with the crowd that emperor would let you go, however the chances of this happening are very slim, and eventually, you are almost certainly going to be killed.