Lex Talionis Equal Punishment Essay

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Lex Talionis is a principle that states a punishment should equal the crime. Therefore, for murder, the punishment would be death or what is commonly referred to as capital punishment. This principle is commonly used around the world and had precedent in ancient times. It appears to be a fair way of dealing with punishment because everyone is treated based on how they treat others. However, what is equal punishment and does it really exist? Is it possible to apply it to every possible crime? The answer is no. Equal punishment transforms the normal human into a savage because we choose to kill those who have killed, a death for a death. Therefore, as applied to capital punishment, the Lex Talionis principle stating that criminal punishment should equal the criminal activity is ineffective.
How does one go about deciding what is equal to the crime? There are thousands of crimes that may not have an equal …show more content…

If a house builder purposely builds a house poorly, and the house collapses killing the owner and his daughter, what is the equal punishment? Of course, you would say to subject the builder to the death penalty, but that is not quite equal, one life for the lose of two. The equal punishment would be the life of the builder and his daughter. But, what would the equal punishment be if the house collapse killed just the owner’s daughter? Would it be to kill the builder’s daughter? Yes, it would, but that is not right. Many who support the death penalty as a fair and equal punishment for murder say it is because each life has value, and each person has the right to life. In the situation of the builder’s daughter being subjected to death, her right to life has been taken away from her, even though she took no part in building the house, in order to keep a promise of equal punishment. This fact alone produces a savage society willing to kill the innocent for the sake of equal

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