Do you support ‘Eye for an Eye’?

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Do you support Eye for an Eye?

‘An eye for eye makes the whole world go blind’ (Gandhi).

A brief article on retributive justice.

Read this

The above article got me thinking about this retributive justice punishment system we have in the world.  Is it vengeful hypocritical idiocy from a bygone age of barbarism?  Or is it cost saving solution to deal with the crime rates and the rising prison population?

For

Potentially good if it is carried out within reasonable limits?  For example with the article above, paralysed victim has to live with the paralysis for the rest of their life, the offender would extremely likely never re-offend if they themselves were crippled and came to understand the damage that they caused.  But carrying outs such as this is deemed inhumanely and fall prey to human error.  A solution for this is the punishment should be temporary, with the offender reversibly paralysed for a fixed period.  What does this achieve?  The offender will feel the pain of the victim, and as stated before, the offender will be less likely to repeat this offense.  The offender should be solely punished excluding the offender’s family and friends.

Against

Blatantly against human rights which will cause international outcry.  And if you’re willing to impart such injury upon a criminal, aren’t you on the same level?  People are vulnerable to get consumed by revenge which has a negative effect on their judgment.

‘ Holding feelings of revenge imprisons the psyche. Forgiveness is liberating since it frees one from all the internal hatred that ties one in psychological knots’ (Read it somewhere…)

Some hold the belief that society should move away from the “eye for an eye” revenge mentality if civilization is to advance.   It sends the wrong message: why kill people who kill people to show killing is wrong.  Life in prison is a worse punishment and a more effective deterrent.  The prisoner’s family must suffer from seeing their loved one put to death by the state, as well as going through the emotionally-draining appeals process.  Also the possibility exists that innocent men and women may be put to death. (Balanced Politics)

I may add more to the article within the week with my own personal opinions.

Feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comment section.  Maybe we can start some good debates and discussions?

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