Essay on an eye for an eye will turn the whole world blind [Wow Essays Premium] PDF

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descriptive essay on the idea of "an eye for an eye" in justice....

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Essay On An Eye For An Eye Will Turn The Whole World Blind

This line by Mahatma Gandhi is the thrust of the Reformative Theory of Punishment . The most recent and the most humane of all theories are based on the principle of reforming the legal offenders through individual treatment. Not looking to criminals as inhuman this theory puts forward the changing nature of the modern society where it presently looks into the fact that all other theories have failed to put forward any such stable theory, which would prevent the occurrence of further crime. Reform in the deterrent sense implied that through being punished the offender recognized his guilt and wished to change. This theory aims at rehabilitating the offender to the norms of the society i.e. into law-abiding member. This theory condemns all kinds of corporal punishments. Though this theory works stupendously for the correction of juveniles and first time criminals, but in the case of a hardened criminal this theory may not work with the effectiveness. "Crime is behaviour or action that is punishable by criminal law. A crime is a public wrong, as opposed to a moral, wrong; it is an offence committed against (and hence punishable by) the state or the community at large. Many crimes are immoral, but not all actions considered immoral are illegal." According to Durkheim, "crime exists in every society which do and do not have laws, courts and the police. He asserts that all societies have crime, since all societies involve a differentiation between two kinds of actions, those that are allowed and those that are forbidden. He calls the latter type criminals." The theory of criminal justice is the branch of philosophy of law that deals with criminal justice and in particular punishment. It has deep connections to other areas of

philosophy, such as political philosophy and ethics, as well as to criminal justice in practice. Reformative theory forms a crucial part of the theory of criminal justice. This theory aims at rehabilitating the offender to the norms of the society i.e. into law-abiding member. This theory condemns all kinds of corporal punishments. These aim at transforming the lawoffenders in such a way that the inmates of the peno-correctional institutions can lead a life like a normal citizen. These prisons or correctional homes as they are termed humanly treat the inmates and release them as soon as they feel that they are fit to mix up with the other members of the community. The reformation generally takes place either through probation or parole as measures for reforming criminals. It looks at the seclusion of the criminals from the society as an attempt to reform them and to prevent the person from social ostracism. Though this theory works stupendously for the correction of juveniles and first time criminals, but in the case of hardened criminals this theory may not work with the effectiveness. In these cases come the importance of the deterrence theories and the retributive theories. Thus each of these four theories has their own pros and cons and each being important in it, none can be ignored as such. Reform theory argues that the amount of punishment should be enough to cause reform in the offender. Reaction to crimes has been different at different stages of civilization and even at a given time they have been different in different society at a given time. The attitude towards criminal has always been coloured by extreme types of emotions displayed by society. In words of Elmer Hubert Johnson11 the criminal may be described as monster or be pictured as a hunted animal or as the helpless victim of brutality. Chapter Two CONCEPT OF LEX TALIONIS An eye for an eye is the principle that a person who has injured another person is similarly injured in retribution, or according to other interpretations the victim receives the value of the

injury in compensation. According to Jewish interpretations the victim in criminal law gets financial compensation based on the law of human equality eschewing mutilation and 'lex talionis. The English word talion means a retaliation authorized by law, in which the punishment corresponds in kind and degree to the injury, from the Latin talio. The phrase "an eye for an eye" is sometimes trivially referred to the Latin term lex talionis, the law of talion. "Can punishment be in form of reform": an age-old controversy? 'Hate the crime and not the criminal' very rightly said by Mahatma Gandhi. Whatever be the ultimate aim of punishment in the first instance it is the imposition on an evil. Any power of punishment to reform is widely and strongly denied on the dual grounds of principle and of experience. Experiments have shown that punishment ordinarily do it reform. On the contrary it often degrades coleuses and brutalizes. Men commonly come out of prison worse, than they went in. Punishment tends to search for an answer but more often ends up raising more questions. The term lex talionis does not always and only refer to literal eye-for-an-eye codes of justice (see rather mirror punishment) but applies to the broader class of legal systems that specify formulaic penalties for specific crimes, which are thought to be fitting in their severity. Some propose that this was at least in part intended to prevent excessive punishment at the hands of either an avenging private party or the state. The most common expression of lex talionis is "an eye for an eye", but other interpretations have been given as well. Legal codes following the principle of lex talionis have one thing in common: prescribed 'fitting' counter punishment for an offence. In the famous legal code written by Hammurabi, the principle of exact reciprocity is very clearly used. For example, if a person caused the death of another person, the killer would be put to death. Under the right conditions, such as the ability for all actors to participate in an iterative fashion, the "eye for an eye" punishment system has a mathematical basis in the tit for tat game theory strategy. The simplest example is the "eye for an eye" principle. In that case, the rule was that punishment must be exactly equal to the crime.

Conversely, the twelve tables of Rome merely prescribed particular penalties for particular crimes. The Anglo-Saxon legal code substituted payment of wergild for direct retribution: a particular person's life had a fixed value, derived from his social position; any homicide was compensated by paying the appropriate wergild, regardless of intent. Under the British Common Law, successful plaintiffs were entitled to repayment equal to their loss (in monetary terms). In the modern tort law system, this has been extended to translate noneconomic losses into money as well. The meaning of the principle Eye for an Eye is that a person who has been injured by another person returns the offending action to the originator in compensation, or that an authority does so on behalf of the injured person. The exact Latin (lex talionis) to English translation of this phrase is actually "The law of retaliation." At the root of this principle is that purposes of the law is to provide equitable retribution. It should, however, be borne in mind that reformative idea must be kept within sensible limits. In its extreme application, the reformative idea will not secure its goal and might lead, as farce reformation should go hand in hand with retribution and deterrence. A certain amount of terror is also desirable, and at times, evens necessary. So the idea of deterrence cannot be ignored. Deterrence cannot be wholeheartedly and completely substituted by reformation pure and sole. The perfect blend of deterrence and reformation can be seen in Indian Jurisprudence. Some of the legislative provisions, which deal with reformative concept, are Reformative schools act, 1897 and Juvenile Justice Act, 2000(amended). Inception of the concept: Various ideas regarding the origins of lex talionis exist, but a common one is that it developed as early civilizations grew and a less well-established system for retribution of wrongs, feuds andvendettas, threatened the social fabric. Despite having been replaced with newer modes of legal theory, lex talionis systems served a critical purpose in the development of social systems the establishment of a body whose purpose was to enact the retaliation and

ensure that this was the only punishment. This body was the state in one of its earliest forms. The principle is found in Babylonian Law. It is surmised that in societies not bound by the rule of law, if a person was hurt, then the injured person (or their relative) would take vengeful retribution on the person who caused the injury. The retribution might be much worse than the crime, perhaps even death. Babylonian law put a limit on such actions, restricting the retribution to be no worse than the crime, as long as victim and offender occupied the same status in society, while punishments were less proportional with disputes between social strata: like blasphemy or laesa maiestatis (against a god, viz., monarch, even today in certain societies), crimes against one's social better were systematically punished as worse. Roman law moved toward monetary compensation as a substitute for vengeance. In cases of assault, fixed penalties were set for various injuries, although talio was still permitted if one person broke another's limb. Position of lex talionis under the domain of religion Lex talionis in Christianity Christian interpretation of the Biblical passage has been heavily influenced by the Church father St. Augustine. He already discussed in his Contra Faustum, Book XIX, the points of 'fulfilment or destruction' of the Jewish law. George Robinson characterizes the passage of Exodus ("an eye for an eye") as one of the "most controversial in the Bible". According to Robinson, some have pointed to this passage as evidence of the vengeful nature of justice in the Hebrew Bible. Similarly, Abraham Bloch speculates that the "lex talionis has been singled out as a classical example of biblical harshness." Stephen Wylen asserts that the lex talionis is "proof of the unique value of each individual" and that it teaches "equality of all human beings for law." In the Sermon on the Mount), Jesus of Nazareth urges his followers to turn the other cheek rather than to seek legal steps for any compensation that corresponds in kind and degree to

the injury. You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. This saying of Jesus is frequently interpreted as criticism of the Old Testament teaching, and often taken as implying that "an eye for an eye" encourages excessive vengeance rather than an attempt to limit it. Lex talionis in Islam The Qur'an mentions the "eye for an eye" concept as being ordained for the Children of Israel.[18] The principle of Lex talionis in Islam is Qasas as mentioned in "O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution (Qasas) for those murdered - the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But whoever overlooks from his brother anything, then there should be a suitable follow-up and payment to him with good conduct. This is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy. But whoever transgresses after that will have a painful punishment." Some Muslim nations, still apply the rule, in accordance with the Mosaic Law. In some countries that use Islamic law (sharia), the "eye for an eye" rule is applied quite literally. In the Torah We prescribed for them a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, an equal wound for a wound: if anyone forgoes this out of charity, it will serve as atonement for his bad deeds. Those who do not judge according to what God has revealed are doing grave wrong. Chapter Three CONCEPT OF PUNISHMENT The word punishment literally means torture that a person should undergo on account of doing a wrong. It can be seen from a religious or an ethical point of view. The religious injunction is that the god being the ruler of this world punishes those who break his laws. The mills a god grind surely though slowly. A person should always act according to his beat rational judgment. If he makes a wrong by default, he should correct it by undergoing a self imposed penance or remorse. Prof. flew has suggested five criteria for the use of the word

punishment in its primary sense: 1. It must involve an evil or an unpleasantness to the victim. 2. It must be for an actual or supposed offence. 3. It must be for an actual or supposed offender. 4. It must be the work of personal agencies (i.e., not merely the natural consequences of an action.) 5. It must be imposed by an authority (real or supposed) conferred by the system of rules against which the offence has been committed. In this context questions about the proper justification for punishment, particularly incarceration, are as old as the criminal law. In the classic textbook Explication, there are four competing, sometimes complementary, rationales offered for criminal punishment: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. Punishment is the sanction imposed on a person for the infringement of the rules of society. It is primarily used as a method of protecting society by reducing the occurrence of criminal behaviour. The punishment to be awarded for a crime must not be irrelevant but it should conform to and be consistent with the atrocity and brutality with which the crime has been perpetrated, the enormity of the crime warranting public abhorrence and it should "respond to the society's cry for justice against the criminal." In Ravji v State of Rajasthan, a Division Bench observed that 'it is the nature and gravity of the crime but not the criminal, which are germane for consideration of appropriate punishment in a criminal trial'. A dispassionate analysis of criminological jurisprudence would reveal that capital punishment is justified only in extreme cases in which a high degree of culpability is involved causing grave danger to society.Society has resorted to many different methods in executing criminals and other allegedly dangerous persons in the past e.g. drowning, stoning to death, burning at the stake and beheading etc. These methods, however, appear barbaric especially in comparison to the seemingly sanitized, quick, and painless procedure of death by lethal injections, the most commonly used method of execution in contemporary America.

TYPES OF PUNISHMENT * Retribution: Retributive justice is a theory of justice that considers punishment, if proportionate, to be the best response to crime. When an offender breaks the law, s/he thereby forfeits or suspends her/his right to something of equal value, and justice requires that this forfeit be enacted. This is sometimes taken to mean that justice involves seeking vengeance on behalf of the aggrieved party, or society as a whole. In ethics and law, "Let the punishment fit the crime" is the principle that the severity of penalty for a misdeed or wrongdoing should be reasonable and proportionate to the severity of the infraction. The concept is common to most cultures throughout the world. Its presence in the ancient Jewish culture is shown by its inclusion in the law of Moses, specifically in Deuteronomy , and Exodus which includes the punishments of "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." That phrasing in turn resembles the older Code of Hammurabi. Many other documents reflect this value in the world's cultures. However, the judgment of whether a punishment is appropriately severe can vary greatly between cultures and individuals. Proportionality requires that the level of punishment be scaled relative to the severity of the offending behavior. However, this does not mean that the punishment has to be equivalent to the crime. A retributive system must punish severe crime more harshly than minor crime, but retributivists differ about how harsh or soft the system should be overall. Traditionally, philosophers of punishment have contrasted retributivism with utilitarianism. For utilitarians, punishment is forward-looking, justified by a purported ability to achieve future social benefits, such as crime reduction. For retributionists, punishment is backward-looking, justified by the crime that has been committed and carried out to atone for the damage already done. Criticism:

Many more jurisdictions following the retributive philosophy, especially in the United States, follow a set tariff, where judges impose a penalty for a crime within the range set by the tariff. As a result, some argue that judges do not have enough discretion to allow for mitigating factors, leading to unjust decisions under certain circumstances. In the case of fines, the financial position of an offender is not taken into account, leading to situations where an unemployed individual and a millionaire could be forced to pay the same fine, creating an unjust situation; either the fine would be too punitive for the unemployed offender, or not large enough to punish the millionaire. In some countries, such as Finland, fines are fixed as percentages of the offenders personal income, rather than a certain dollar amount. This allows for the law to remain fair, in that is applies to all citizens equally, yet prevents the wealthy from simply paying to break the law without suffering any substantial punishment. * Rehabilitation: Rehabilitation means to restore to useful life, as through therapy and education or To restore to good condition, operation, or capacity. The assumption of rehabilitation is that people are not permanently criminal and that it is possible to restore a criminal to a useful life, to a life in which they contribute to themselves and to society. A goal of rehabilitation is to prevent habitual offending, also known as criminal recidivism. Rather than punishing the harm out of a criminal, rehabilitation would seek, by means of education or therapy, to bring a criminal into a more normal state of mind, or into an attitude which would be helpful to society, rather than be harmful to society. This theory of punishment is based on the notion that punishment is to be inflicted on an offender so as to reform him/her, or rehabilitate them so as to make their re-integration into society easier. Punishments that are in accordance with this theory are community service, probation orders, and any form of punishment which entails any form of guidance and aftercare towards

the offender. This theory is founded on the belief that one cannot inflict a severe punishment of imprisonment and expect the offender to be reformed and to be able to re-integrate into society upon his/her release. Indeed, the United States Code states that sentencing judges shall make imprisonment decisions "recognizing that imprisonment is not an appropriate means of promoting correction and rehabilitation".[1] Although the importance of inflicting punishment on those persons who breach the law, so as to maintain social order, is retained, the importance of rehabilitation is also given priority. Humanitarians have, over the years, supported rehabilitation as an alternative, even for capital punishment. Criticism: Rehabilitation theories present however the following deficiencies: First, there is no sound scientific research to determine how different individuals react to the same rehabilitating methods. Second, rehabilitation may depend more decisively on the individual psychological background, hence on his particular motives to commit crimes, than on the rehabilitating methods or philosophy. Third, a rehabilitation program may prove to be too costly and complex to be successfully implemented in most countries. Finally, rehabilitation must refer to the sociological findings on the socialization and resocialization processes, as change in lifelong socially acquired patterns of behavior and values entails a much more complex and sometime traumatic change on the individual's structure of character. * Incapacitation Incapacitation in the context of sentencing philosophy refers to the...