Can revenge be justified and be as equally part of justice if they both seek retribution for a wrongdoing? Justice comes from a Latin word that means straight, fair, equal. It is a way of punishing people who break a law or rule that has been put in place deserve to be punished humanely, it doesn’t involve any act of retribution. It can be defined as the concept of moral rightness, which is based on the rules of law, fairness, ethics, rationality and equality among the governed citizens. While revenge is the act of taking retaliation for injuries or wrongs, it refers to an action taken by an individual as a response to an act of injustice.
It is retaliation by a wronged party against the person or people they see as having caused the wrong. Revenge occurs when one would like to take the law into their own hands. It is a lash out of anger and is more harsh than fair. Instead of allowing the courts to punish the person who committed the wrongful act against an individual in which involves a certain sense of bitterness and anger. Legal justice for the criminal benefits the greater Community but revenge for the victim benefits the Individual.
In a Democratic Republic, like the United States, the government had set up the criminal justice system to uphold the rule of law, including the Court, which is a tribunal with authority to resolve disputes and to test and enforce laws in a fair and rational manner. There is an affected third party which is known as jury who can carry out the justice. The courtroom is often the scene that justice take place. There is a judge, along with a jury, find what is the most suitable punishment if any is necessary
In most developed countries it is considered vital that the judiciary be independent from the government, so that if the high officials or authorities are involved in the case, it doesn’t affect or disrupt the fairness and judgement by the Court. Legal justice helps to keep the offender away the citizens in order to make sure the community is safe to live in. Under the legal justice system, restorative justice is also given to support the criminals to turn into a new leaf which is benefits to the needs of the greater Community.
First of all, it reduces recidivism. Restorative justice has a high rate of success in reducing repeat offenses. People who have offended have great opportunity to learn skills in the prison so that they can turn into a new leaf more easily and go on to live in a crime-free life. Besides, with reduced recidivism, legal justice empowers individuals to make their neighborhoods and town safer and more pleasant places to live.
Furthermore, a restorative approach to crime saves the state money by preventing individuals from becoming part of the criminal justice system for offenses that can be resolved at the local level with community and victim participation. In addition to enhancing the safety and well-being of a town or region, community justice centers help to establish a more active citizenship. Volunteering has been shown to build stronger and more cohesive communities and increase the social network with towns and neighborhoods. Legal justice could also help the criminals to reverse a verdict if they are innocent. The community needs the legal justice system to retain the fairness for everyone, including the criminals.
However, legal justice for the criminal non benefits to the individuals, especially for the victim and his loved ones. After the victims suffered from violence or sexual harassment, their mental illness and traumatic brain injury can never be fully recovered. In order to retain the legal justice for the law-breakers, the judge and jury could not put much sympathy on the victims.