What Does Justice Look Like?

When a man believes he has been wronged, or has been accused of wrongdoing, often he will claim to seek justice. What he is actually seeking is either vengeance or mercy. I have seen and can usually recognize acts of vengeance and mercy. I believe that both have their place and purpose. I'm not at all sure that I've ever seen anything that could rightly be called justice.

If a man is robbed, and the thief is caught and imprisoned, has the victim received justice? Is he restored? Perhaps, if he was robbed of items that may be recovered, they may be returned to him, but he will surely have to invest his time and effort, for which there will be no recompense. What if he is robbed of money that can't be recovered, or what if he is beaten in the course of the robbery? And what of the thief? Will he be rehabilitated? Will the nature and duration of his punishment be commensurate with the crime he committed?

This is one small example of how we miss the mark when aiming for justice. Somehow, what we end up with is vengeance, mercy, or something much, much worse - further injustice.


For anyone who thinks 'it happened 30 years ago, there's no point in sending that old man to prison', consider this; what do you suppose that 'old man' has been doing for the last 30 years?

I've seen all kinds of articles lately about how the catholic church is revamping their policies with regard to how they deal with cases involving priests who abuse children. I don't understand how this is even a matter that has to be discussed, or why they think they have to have a 'policy'.

How is it that men guilty of such atrocities are still protected by one of the most powerful organizations in the world? Parents, where is your outrage? How can you hear of these cases day after day and not think 'what if that were my child?'

If we stand collectively by as these children are robbed of their innocence and their ability to trust, we are all guilty of fostering a society of depravity. Our children's future is shaped by what we do, and fail to do, today.

I, for one, feel some good old-fashioned vengeance is in order. If you insist on tempering it with a little mercy, very well. Don't kill the perpetrators. Just castrate them, lock them away for life and give them work to do to earn their keep. Preferably very, very hard, dirty, unpleasant work. It's not justice, but it's as close as we've got.