I think that justice and mercy are not mutually exclusive. Both justice and mercy are virtues, and virtues generally are not supposed to clash. Justice is about matching people to their fair desserts while mercy is about forgiveness and kindness. A society without justice is corrupt and inefficient; a society without mercy is stifling and restrictive. We can see that both virtues are contrasted with the vice of cruelty. Justice can be served within the boundaries of mercy. For example, the law prohibits a criminal from being tortured and treated inhumanely. The humanity of the criminal is taken into consideration, while equity and fairness is sought.
Justice should not be viewed as retribution – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth – but rather a resolution. The “tit for tat” concept is only for revenge, and justice is not revenge. While justice is built upon a foundation of ethics recognised by both the victim and the offender, revenge is outside the boundaries of ethical conduct. The aim of revenge is to inflict greater pain onto the offender than that originally inflicted onto the victim. On the other hand, the purpose of justice is to ensure the well being of the society and more often than not, this can be secured through mercy rather than punishment.
An example of mercy in justice is the recent example of the Iranian woman, who was blinded and badly disfigured in an acid attack, stopping a retributive blinding sentence from being carried out on her attacker at the last moment when the acid was about to be applied by a doctor. The victim’s magnanimous act has saved her attacker from the cruel sentence, but we cannot deny that justice is not served – the attacker would probably have to be jailed for a long, long time.
Mercy provides the offender with the opportunity to change over a new leaf, while giving peace of mind to the one who gives mercy. It is possible that mercy may embolden criminals, but most of the time it emboldens virtue by giving people a second chance. For example, Singapore’s Yellow Ribbon Project has given ex-offenders a second chance at life and inspired concerted community action to support them. Rehabilitating a criminal to make him a useful member of society is more effective than punishing the harm out of the criminal.
In conclusion, justice and mercy can co-exist, perhaps in different spheres. Both justice and mercy are required for a good, functioning society. The key is knowing when to show mercy and when to show justice as an excess of either may threaten the stability of our society.
