Siberia。Onthebanksofabroadsolitaryriverstandsatown，oneoftheadministrativecentresofRussia；inthetownthereisafortress，inthefortressthereisaprison。Intheprisonthesecond-classconvictRodionRaskolnikovhasbeenconfinedforninemonths。Almostayearandahalfhaspassedsincehiscrime。
Therehadbeenlittledifficultyabouthistrial。Thecriminaladheredexactly，firmly，andclearlytohisstatement。Hedidnotconfusenormisrepresentthefacts，norsoftentheminhisowninterest，noromitthesmallestdetail。Heexplainedeveryincidentofthemurder，thesecretofthepledgethepieceofwoodwithastripofmetalwhichwasfoundinthemurderedwoman’shand。Hedescribedminutelyhowhehadtakenherkeys，whattheywerelike，aswellasthechestanditscontents；heexplainedthemysteryofLizaveta’smurder；describedhowKochand，afterhim，thestudentknocked，andrepeatedalltheyhadsaidtooneanother；howheafterwardshadrundownstairsandheardNikolayandDmitrishouting；howhehadhiddenintheemptyflatandafterwardsgonehome。HeendedbyindicatingthestoneintheyardofftheVoznesenskyProspectunderwhichthepurseandthetrinketswerefound。Thewholething，infact，wasperfectlyclear。Thelawyersandthejudgeswereverymuchstruck，amongotherthings，bythefactthathehadhiddenthetrinketsandthepurseunderastone，withoutmakinguseofthem，andthat，whatwasmore，hedidnotnowrememberwhatthetrinketswerelike，orevenhowmanytherewere。Thefactthathehadneveropenedthepurseanddidnotevenknowhowmuchwasinitseemedincredible。Thereturnedouttobeinthepursethreehundredandseventeenroublesandsixtycopecks。Frombeingsolongunderthestone，someofthemostvaluablenoteslyinguppermosthadsufferedfromthedamp。Theywerealongwhiletryingtodiscoverwhytheaccusedmanshouldtellalieaboutthis，whenabouteverythingelsehehadmadeatruthfulandstraightforwardconfession。Finallysomeofthelawyersmoreversedinpsychologyadmittedthatitwaspossiblehehadreallynotlookedintothepurse，andsodidn’tknowwhatwasinitwhenhehiditunderthestone。Buttheyimmediatelydrewthedeductionthatthecrimecouldonlyhavebeencommittedthroughtemporarymentalderangement，throughhomicidalmania，withoutobjectorthepursuitofgain。Thisfellinwiththemostrecentfashionabletheoryoftemporaryinsanity，sooftenappliedinourdaysincriminalcases。MoreoverRaskolnikov’shypochondriacalconditionwasprovedbymanywitnesses，byDr。Zossimov，hisformerfellowstudents，hislandladyandherservant。AllthispointedstronglytotheconclusionthatRaskolnikovwasnotquitelikeanordinarymurdererandrobber，butthattherewasanotherelementinthecase。
Totheintenseannoyanceofthosewhomaintainedthisopinion，thecriminalscarcelyattemptedtodefendhimself。Tothedecisivequestionastowhatmotiveimpelledhimtothemurderandtherobbery，heansweredveryclearlywiththecoarsestfranknessthatthecausewashismiserableposition，hispovertyandhelplessness，andhisdesiretoprovideforhisfirststepsinlifebythehelpofthethreethousandroubleshehadreckonedonfinding。Hehadbeenledtothemurderthroughhisshallowandcowardlynature，exasperatedmoreoverbyprivationandfailure。Tothequestionwhatledhimtoconfess，heansweredthatitwashisheartfeltrepentance。Allthiswasalmostcoarse。…
Thesentencehoweverwasmoremercifulthancouldhavebeenexpected，perhapspartlybecausethecriminalhadnottriedtojustifyhimself，buthadrathershownadesiretoexaggeratehisguilt。Allthestrangeandpeculiarcircumstancesofthecrimeweretakenintoconsideration。Therecouldbenodoubtoftheabnormalandpoverty-strickenconditionofthecriminalatthetime。Thefactthathehadmadenouseofwhathehadstolenwasputdownpartlytotheeffectofremorse，partlytohisabnormalmentalconditionatthetimeofthecrime。IncidentallythemurderofLizavetaservedindeedtoconfirmthelasthypothesis:amancommitstwomurdersandforgetsthatthedoorisopen！Finally，theconfession，attheverymomentwhenthecasewashopelesslymuddledbythefalseevidencegivenbyNikolaythroughmelancholyandfanaticism，andwhen，moreover，therewerenoproofsagainsttherealcriminal，nosuspicionsevenPorfiryPetrovitchfullykepthisword—allthisdidmuchtosoftenthesentence。Othercircumstances，too，intheprisoner’sfavourcameoutquiteunexpectedly。RazumihinsomehowdiscoveredandprovedthatwhileRaskolnikovwasattheuniversityhehadhelpedapoorconsumptivefellowstudentandhadspenthislastpennyonsupportinghimforsixmonths，andwhenthisstudentdied，leavingadecrepitoldfatherwhomhehadmaintainedalmostfromhisthirteenthyear，Raskolnikovhadgottheoldmanintoahospitalandpaidforhisfuneralwhenhedied。Raskolnikov’slandladyborewitness，too，thatwhentheyhadlivedinanotherhouseatFiveCorners，Raskolnikovhadrescuedtwolittlechildrenfromahouseonfireandwasburntindoingso。Thiswasinvestigatedandfairlywellconfirmedbymanywitnesses。Thesefactsmadeanimpressioninhisfavour。
Andintheendthecriminalwas，inconsiderationofextenuatingcircumstances，condemnedtopenalservitudeinthesecondclassforatermofeightyearsonly。