In Romeo and Juliet, another possible reason for the Prince's reluctance to follow through on the sentence of death that he has proclaimed for anyone who disturbs the peace of the streets of Verona is that he may reason that his putting of Romeo to death may ignite more feuding and simply perpetuate the hatred between the Montague and Capulet family. For, since he knows that already three civil brawls have erupted from only "an airy word" and caused Verona's senior citizens to take out their old weapons and resume their fighting, the Prince may feel that banishment for Romeo is preferable.
One reason is that say someone is on bed rest/in the hospital not allowed to move, it can make them very week and make it very hard for them to walk again.
