Term 3 Wk 6 - Justice & Mercy

Justice & Mercy in our Present World --- Can they co-exist?

In my point of view, justice and mercy can co-exist.

Firstly, what is justice & mercy? O.o

Justice is

1. the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.

2. rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason: to complain with justice.

3. the moral principle determining just conduct.

4. conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct; just conduct, dealing, or treatment.

5. the administering of deserved punishment or reward.

 

Mercy is

1. compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence: Have mercy on the poor sinner.

2. the disposition to be compassionate or forbearing: an adversary wholly without mercy.

3. the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty.

4. an act of kindness, compassion, or favor: She has performed countless small mercies for her friends and neighbors.

5. something that gives evidence of divine favor; blessing: It was just a mercy we had our seat belts on when it happened.

 

So now, why can Justice & Mercy co-exist?

 

Many people say that when there is justice, there will be no mercy. This is because they misunderstand the word justice. They thought that justice means an eye-for-an-eye, a-tooth-for-a-tooth but these are forms of REVENGE, not justice. People also believe that when there is mercy, justice will be compromised as the offender will get lesser than what he deserved. Does that mean that one must suffer the same fate as the victim then is counted as justice is served?

 

Those people that harbour the mindset above are all wrong. They perceive the Justice & Mercy as very superficial. The purpose of justice is not to seek revenge, but to secure well being of the society as a whole and the purpose of mercy is to forgive. In a court, when the judge sentence the offender to a certain form of punishment, justice is served. However, if the victim is willing to show mercy and to forgive the offender, choosing rehabilitation over retribution, the offender might get a lighter sentence or even be accquitted. This does not mean that there is no justice. The court has already announced him guilty and sentence him to the punishment he deserve. However, is beacuse that the victim shows mercy that the offender gets a lighter sentence. In this way, there is both justice and mercy.

 

Mercy can be more effective in certain cases. The act of forgiving gives the offender an opportunity to change and turn over a new leaf, instead of condeming the offender immediately, without giving him a chance to reform and improve. When one shows mercy, one also gets mental peace and is able to let go.

 

However, there are some cases when mercy can't help to resolve the problem. Some people are basically unrepetant. In such cases, we can't afford to show mercy as this might give those people a chance to harm our society. Hence, we ought to deal him with the harshest punishment, to secure the well being of the people in our present world.

 

In conclusion, I conclude that justice & mercy can co-exist as long as the situation allows.