“And when the verdict come, warn’t it Compeyson as was recommended to mercy on account of good character and bad company, and giving up all the information he could agen me, and warn’t it me as got never a word but Guilty?”
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 43. Magwitch tells how his partner in crime Compeyson used his social status and also betrayed him to get a lesser sentence. Although their criminal partnership was a joint enterprise the court favored Compeyson because he was seen to have a higher social standing.