Stop thief!: 1730

Nor is thy flaxen wig with safety worn;
High on the shoulder, in a basket born
Lurks the sly boy; whose hand to rapine bred,
Plucks off the curling honours of thy head.

Wig theft was a specialized form of robbery. But fear not, because the juvenile criminal justice system had ways of dealing with such crimes:

Breathless he stumbling falls: Ill-fated boy!
Why did not honest work thy youth employ?
Seiz'd by rough hands, he's dragg'd amid the rout,
And stretch'd beneath the pump's incessant spout:
Or plung'd in miry ponds, he gasping lies,
Mud chokes his mouth, and plasters o'er his eyes.

--From Trivia: or, The art of walking the streets of London--

Genocide: 1350

"...If there is any way I can help, even if it means clan-wide extermination, I shall do it without regret."

--From the Romance of the Three Kingdoms--

This line is spoken by a "good person". Grateful poems are written about him when he dies!

I was just following orders: 1661

The substance of his defence was, that during the late wars he was but one among a great many more: he had always acted by authority of parliament, and according to the instructions that were given him, as oft as he was sent on any expedition or negotiation.

--From History of his own Times--

Perhaps you are a cog in the wheel of a military organization, but before a court of law you will be treated like a human being, and held accountable.

Pirating: 1898

Every reader of The Black Cat and every publisher knows that its stories are copyrighted, and that each number gives due notice of such legal protection. No better evidence of the superior excellence of The Black Cat stories is needed than the fact that the property of no other periodical has been so widely pirated. In their anxiety to publish the cleverest short stories of the day, a number of the foremost papers have repeatedly been led to disregard the Eighth Commandment.

--From The Black Cat--

Is the pirating of intellectual property a major problem of the internet age, or is it only a problem that is easier to see with the use of the internet (because you can google your own copyrighted material)?

Dumb criminals: 1656

When you decide to impersonate someone it's important not to pick too prominent a target. In this case the culprit decided they looked a lot like Jesus.

After he and his followers road into town singing "Hosanna" he was arrested and charged with blasphemy. He was sent to prison, had his tongue burned out, and a "B" branded into his forehead.