Sherwin-White points out that ‘Roman law was very strong against accusers who abandoned their charges’.52 The failure of those witnesses to appear before the governor’s court suggested that their charge could not be substantiated. Paul was making a sound technical objection that was sufficient basis for the dismissal of the case. But the broken syntax then indicates the sudden introduction of another line of defence (‘Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before