An eye for an eye

[luckycat]

Iran to blind criminal with acid in 'eye for an eye' justice | World news | The Guardian

Under sharia law, the man who threw acid in a woman's eyes for refusing to marry him is having the same punishment inflicted on him.

I find myself being in agreement with the proposed punishment.

[araucaria]

You agree with institutionalised barbarism? Jeez...

Just shoot the bastard.

[wtbhotia]

i find no problem with what the victim wants, just look at her poor face, she has to live like that until she dies, shooting the bastard is letting him off easily.

[luckycat]

Agreed. Similar case in the UK. A little known model had acid thrown in her face. The perpetrators now sit in cozy rooms for the next fifteen or so hers courtesy of Her Maj. Where is the fairness in that/?

[Fenix2]

Pity rape is not dealt with the same way under Sharia law....

[Freetrader]

While I am opposed to sharia justice in general, this is one of those instances where the 'rough justice' aspect of it seems appropriate (although it still isn't quite commensurate, since apparently, i.) he won't go through the same level of pain as his victim, and ii.) other than losing his sight he apparently won't be disfigured). I am not arguing that inflicting that level of cruelty would be appropriate either.

While the justice system in my country needs a lot of reform, I personally still believe that certain crimes require society to punish the perpetrator in a commensurate fashion, which is why I have no problem with the death penalty for particularly heinous crimes. Of course, that makes me a minority out here and is typically ascribed to my being American and therefore, somehow unevolved in my thinking. Too bad.

[luckycat]

Why do you always make this about you being American!?

I do agree with you though. I also think that maybe in some ways (and admittedly I am not expert) Sharia law is a little more sophisticated (though I am not sure this is the right word - robust, maybe) than its counterparts.

Its law acts punitively, restoratively and also acts (as in this case) as a deterrent. Fine, this guy is getting the same inflicted on him and he did to someone else (although, he is being sedated, which I don't agree with in this case), but it sends a very strong message out to the public that this is the level of justice that will be brought on you if you decide to pour acid on people. I see purchase in that.

[bryant.english]

I just think you have to tread carefully. First of all, I think throwing acid in her face was a truly horrible crime, truly horrible and there is no crime that this punishment fits. My difficulty is that if we sanction the state using this as a punishment we also become 'the type of people who throw acid in peoples face'.

We put ourselves above these kinds of people by showing them mercy in spite of their lack of the same. All the same, he really should be locked of for a very long time.

[luckycat]

This is the UK case I was talking about:

Katie Piper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We watched the documentary on it. It is a pretty brutal account of what happened and her life after the attack. Awful.

[Freetrader]

I do agree with you though. I also think that maybe in some ways (and admittedly I am not expert) Sharia law is a little more sophisticated (though I am not sure this is the right word - robust, maybe) than its counterparts.

Its law acts punitively, restoratively and also acts (as in this case) as a deterrent. Fine, this guy is getting the same inflicted on him and he did to someone else (although, he is being sedated, which I don't agree with in this case), but it sends a very strong message out to the public that this is the level of justice that will be brought on you if you decide to pour acid on people. I see purchase in that.

The trouble with Sharia is, of course, that it ties back to religion, which is by definition not rational but is based on the metaphysical world view of the religion in question. Obviously, being stoned to death for adultery is not a just punishment even if one accepts the premise that adultery (however defined) is somehow worthy of legal sanction. Iran, in particular, has a really nasty record of the treatment of women; teenage girls who have had sex outside of marriage are executed thanks to the sharia courts. In this particular situation, though, the punishment seems to roughly fit the crime.

I also agree that the 'deterrant' aspect of the punishment is important.