King John of England

For a trivial offence, a free man shall be fined only in proportion to the degree of his offence, and for a serious offence correspondingly, but not so heavily as to deprive him of his livelihood.

Magna Carta Libertatum (“Great Charter of Freedoms”), commonly called Magna Carta (also Magna Charta; “Great Charter”), Clause 20, as signed by King John of England at Runnymede, first drafted by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury.