/who/'s philosophy on criminal justice is not one of rehabilitation, but of punishment and examples. They do have jailhouses (colloquially known as "fryers"), but they have few cells, which generally are lacking in amenities. Most simply have a blanket, a bucket, and a slot at the bottom of the doorway to allow for food and drink to be slid through. Their purpose is to hold accused criminals until they stand trial and are not meant to house adult Hoomans for more than a couple of weeks.

Hooties who are found to have broken local or national laws are sentenced to extended stays in one of these cells, the duration varying based upon the judge's discretion and the nature of the crime committed. Adults face corporal punishment instead.

One of the most common forms of punishment is "don don", characterized by two strikes with a giant wooden hammer. The location of the strikes depends on the crime committed; disfiguring another results in getting struck in a way that would leave the offender in the same or a comparable physical state. A thief would have their hands crushed.

For particularly severe offenses, public execution is the sentence, though the "public" aspect of it is a pointless distinction for the most part. All typical execution methods are conducted in public and Hoomans are encouraged to witness them when they occur. Many do not need to be asked; they will arrive and watch if they're informed when one will happen if they have the time.

The method of execution most synonymous with /who/ is that of boiling tar. In this, a cauldron of tar is heated to the liquid's boiling point and its contents are then administered to the criminal. The manner of application typically takes the form of the tar being dumped onto the criminal (who is typically tied to a stake beforehand) or the restrained and bound convict being dipped, dropped, or even thrown into the cauldron. In the latter case, the parties deemed most affected by the crime are the ones who administer the punishment. Regardless of the specific method, notices are put out ahead of time reminding Hoomans to leave their Toehounds out of the house during the punishment to avoid property damage from agitated hounds.

Though the above two are the most common methods of enacting criminal justice, some places do things a bit differently. One village may carry out a boiling tar punishment by leaving the criminal in a fryer cell with all of the village's Toehounds while the tar is boiling just outside the window to agitate the hounds, while another might choose to stab or cut the criminal with a ceremonial dagger rather than bludgeon with an oversized hammer.
Perhaps the most infamous example of unconventional punishment is Strixhalla, which forgoes trials entirely in place of "The Pod's Judgement". When someone is accused of violating the law, that someone is put below deck on a fishing boat that is then (in the only listed exception to Strixhalla's Orca Preservation laws) brought to a pod of V-Tail Orcas. The accused's offenses are then read out by one of the town's council of elders to the pod. After the offenses are spoken, the accused is thrown overboard to the pod who then decides whether to return the accused to the boat, carry them off, or drag them below the surface. This practice is generally considered barbaric by the rest of /who/, though no Ave or Skal has made any effort to censure Strixhalla for it in any Hoosmoot.

Regardless of the method of punishment, the accused is deprived of their feathers and cloak when first arraigned. If deemed not guilty, these items are returned shortly after the verdict. If the criminal faced non-lethal punishment, the cloak and feathers are not returned until a year has passed since the crime took place and the criminal is given a brown bag or sack to wear over their head instead. Attempts to manufacture, purchase, or steal new cloaks or feathers during this time are considered recidivist crimes punishable by public execution.

In most of /who/, being in a position of power (such as Ave or mayor) does not grant legal immunity from local or national laws, and anyone who is found guilty of a crime is removed from their position in much of the same locations. If this happens, snap elections are held to appoint new Hoomans to the relevant elected offices. A Hooman can only stand trial if physically present.

To curb exploitation of this, a Local Citizenship law was passed in the Hoosmoot of N.S. 47 (and granted approval to be made permanent the following year) establishing that any Hooman who has lived in one /who/ town/village for three or more consecutive months is considered a citizen of that location and no other in /who/, and any Hooman who has not set foot in /who/ without prior stated diplomatic or trade purpose, or been documented to be aboard a Hooman vessel in the Strait of Scotos for longer than five years is no longer considered a /who/ citizen, leading their property to be passed on to their next of kin (or closest valid relative, if no next of kin is of age) and any position of authority they may have that has not yet concluded its term is revoked.