Read the newspaper article below about a court case and decision or find one in your local newspaper to read. Imagine that the case you have read about was reported to an Inca court of law 500 years ago. Rewrite the news article as if it were tried in court under Inca rule. Describe the offense and what the punishment would be according to Inca law.

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Courts Cracking Down on Students Skipping School
Excerpt from the Arizona Republic

The excuses for missing dozens of days of school this year ranged from insomnia to asthma to not liking the "drama" in high-school hallways.

But Judge Dan Dodge wasn't having any of it at a new special hearing he holds for truants and their parents once a month.

"Chronic truancy is a criminal offense. Do you want to start out your life with a criminal record?" Dodge said as he stared down from the bench at Gilbert's Highland Justice Court at a sleepy-eyed 15-year-old Dobson High School student.

The freshman said he has missed dozens of days of school this year because he usually struggles to fall asleep until 3 a.m. He then has trouble getting up for his 8 a.m. class. And Mom, typically asleep herself at the hour school starts, is no help, the student said.

"I don't really care about school," he had said before walking into the courtroom. "I would rather stay up late and play music."

Dodge was unsympathetic, saying the problem could easily be solved with fewer late-night jam sessions and a louder morning alarm clock. Or maybe Mom should just pour a glass of water on his head every morning at 6 a.m., the judge said.

Dodge told the young insomniac to have no more unexcused absences this year or he could lose his right to apply for an Arizona driver's license until he turns 18.

Potential Prosecution

On a recent afternoon, Dodge looked around a courtroom full of accused truants, their parents, and their guardians and told everyone to shape up or face prosecution by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Parents in the room eyed each other with chagrin as Dodge told them that they, along with their teens, could face Class 3 misdemeanor charges—meaning fines and possible jail sentences—if they did not get their kids to school on time or make arrangements for them to study at home because of chronic illnesses.

"And if you want to drop out and ruin your life at age 16, that is your prerogative. But before that, it is not your privilege," Dodge told the students, who are not identified because The Arizona Republic typically does not print the names of juveniles accused of crimes.

Dodge ordered the kids and parents to return to his courtroom in March with report cards and attendance records. If things have improved by then, charges will be dropped.

In the Inca Empire, a student's truancy would be treated as an offense to the state, and the young man's punishment would include forced labor and a cultural rehabilitation to instill a sense of duty and community pride.

In the highlands of Inca society, a young man is brought before the court for habitual absence from yachaywasi, the place of learning where future administrators and leaders of the Empire were instructed in the Inca ways. The court, consisting of local curacas and priests under the oversight of a representative from the Sapa Inca, the emperor, hears the case in the town's main square. The offense is to the state, which places great emphasis on education and duty.

The Inca punishment for such truancy is stern. Recognizing that chronic absence undermines the welfare of the ayllu (the local community) and disregards the Inca value of collective responsibility, the young man is sentenced to labor on the farming terraces, working to provide for the qullqata (state storehouses). Moreover, his family is admonished for allowing such behavior, as education is a privilege bestowed by the Sapa Inca himself. As part of his rehabilitation, he is tasked with learning traditional songs that honor Inti, the sun god, and the hard work of his ancestors, to be performed at the next communal gathering, to instill in him a sense of community pride and duty.