He showed how he believed that in order not to support evil one must not succumb to violence. Gandhi concluded by giving the judge and aldermen [of the court] two choices: to resign their office and thus separate themselves from what Gandhi called evil (most likely the British Empire). They would do so, he said, only if they strongly disagreed with the laws Gandhi was accused of, or if they believed Gandhi was innocent. The other choice was to punish Gandhi according to the law, demonstrating that he agrees with the laws and believes they are beneficial to the community.