While a man convicted of defiling a Vestal virgin was beaten to death (Fest. 277 L), it is notable that Vestal virgins were occasionally convicted of unchastity without the identification of a male accomplice (Parker 581, cf. Livy 4.44 and Livy 28.6). This calls into question whether a trial for unchastity was centred on the genuine establishment of fact and has led some scholars – particularly René Girard in Violence and the Sacred – to argue that the persecution of a Vestal virgin may have served a ritual function for the Roman people, providing expiatory relief in times of crisis.