It’s silly that Phandalin has a jail. The town does not have a constabulary, nor does it have a court. If you bring a dangerous criminal to the Townmaster’s Hall and toss them into the clink, the warden is a (checks notes) …banker.

There’s this silly little bit in the Townmaster’s Hall entry for Phandalin and Below: The Shattered Obelisk:

“The townmaster’s hall has a small but serviceable jail with two cells. Harbin eventually admits to the characters that the Redbrands should be captured so they can stand trial and potentially be sent to Neverwinter for imprisonment.”

Phandalin and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, Chapter 2: Trouble In Phandalin, Townmaster’s Hall.

If Phandalin was a colony of Neverwinter or, at a minimum, a member of the Lords’ Alliance , sure, that would make sense. But in this instance, it’s like saying the Redbrands should be tried for their crimes at Disney World, then be sent to London for imprisonment. Huh?

Phandalin is a frontier town. And frontier towns have frontier justice. For serious crimes, the best a criminal might hope for would be to get run out of town by an angry mob, stripped of their weapons and armor, and left to their fate as the criminal tries to survive the perils of the road alone and on foot through very dangerous hinterlands. The worst outcome would involve a rope.

So, what to do with non-murderous criminality? I’m so glad you asked.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, jail trees were a form of justice on the American frontier. It’s exactly what it sounds like. The criminal gets chained to a tree in town, the penitent’s shame on full display for all to see while they atone for their misdeeds, until a mob hands them back their gear with instructions to never return to Phandalin again.

Imagine setting the scene in your game where the party first arrives in Phandalin one bright spring morning to the scene of the local criminal being served his breakfast in a blast of rotting fruits and vegetables by the Phandalin locals who then clasp hands while singing and dancing around the jail tree like the Whos of Whoville on Christmas morning.

Talk about setting the tone for Dragon of Icespire Peak! Hobos, beware!

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