Monday, December 15, 2008
An eye for an eye, literally
You have to hand it to the Iranians, they do not shirk from the harshest implications of the retribution theory of criminal justice:
Ameneh Bahrami once enjoyed photography and mountain vistas. Her work for a medical equipment company gave her financial independence. Several men had asked for her hand in marriage, but the hazel-eyed electrical technician had refused them all. "I wanted to get married, but only to the man I really loved," she said.
Four years ago, a spurned suitor poured a bucket of sulfuric acid over her head, leaving her blind and disfigured.
Late last month, an Iranian court ordered that five drops of the same chemical be placed in each of her attacker's eyes, acceding to Bahrami's demand that he be punished according to a principle in Islamic jurisprudence that allows a victim to seek retribution for a crime.
Naturally this makes me wonder, who draws the plum assignment of administering the sentence in this case? Can we trust the local executioner to deliver only five drops per eye?
It may not be politically correct to say so, but it seems to me that neither the crime not the punishment in this case speaks well for the condition of Iranian law, culture, or society.
6 Comments:
By 
, at
Mon Dec 15, 11:06:00 PM:
Where do all these jackasses get all of this acid from? Always hearing about acid attacks. Is this some sort of insane custom? Are there shops that sell acid for the sole propose of throwing on people (colored, sented)? Am I just not paying attention, can I buy it at Wal-mart, in the auto section.
By , at
Mon Dec 15, 11:16:00 PM:
Actually, you can buy acid here at Walmart, in the auto section oddly enough. The liquid in car batteries is an acid, usually sulfuric acid I think.
By 
Ray, at
Tue Dec 16, 01:37:00 AM:
Whatever our instinctive reactions, there is an interesting social experiment at work here. Honor killings and maimings are on the rise both in Iran, and in western Europe, in populations with substantially the same religious/cultural background, but operating under distinct systems of law. We'll see which one is better suited to preventing this sort of behavior.
By JPMcT, at
Tue Dec 16, 06:53:00 AM:
By , at
Wed Dec 17, 09:50:00 PM:
Does this serve any goal other than to simply satisfy a society's thirst for vengeance and need to see someone suffer for the victim's pain?
By , at
Thu Dec 18, 10:07:00 PM:
Jacob,
No, it doesn't. But society is cool with that.
