Violence in justice

I have to say...I don't get it. I'm sorry, but I just don't. How can people be punished for violence with violence? How does that make any sense? What objective does it fulfill? What's my context, you ask? The Ajmal Kasab trial and people's reactions to it. Thankfully, we have a court of law which overrules the general public's opinion on things. And that court of law is working perfectly undeterred, given the media and public voices of unreason.

I've been hearing talks about executions and public executions. While I have a mixed bag of opinions on the former in this case, I am very clear about having pure disgust at the thought of the latter.

Capital punishment has been a brutal form of punishment seen all through history. According to me, the idea is to discourage others from performing acts of such nature. The problems here were multiple:

1. Innocent people were at risk of losing their lives if a wrong judgment was given.
2. Many societies eventually found it inhumane, unethical and nonspiritual (I read somewhere a view that said killing the body did not achieve anything as the soul still remains, but well that is also debatable).
3. People in the society do not value the life of others as killing becomes a way of life.

But let's look at why the law is made in society. For peace to prevail. So that people do not harm others. This is where my basic issue lies. Everybody needs a chance to redeem themselves, to become a better person, to live along other people. Isn't that what we as a society want too? Not to kill people, but to better them. If your kids steal from their classmate, you don't wanna put them in jail. You want them to never steal again. Let's just try and put that in a larger, more adult scenario!

You may also want to read about all the pros and cons of capital punishment and the debates all around the world on the same.

Having said all this, Kasab (and every other terrorist) has crossed these mundane crime boundaries and moved into a plane involving mass murder with little or no remorse. I'm saddened to see a man who was being brainwashed by evil people day in and day out since he was a boy. He, along with many other such boys who don't know any better. However, even with that background, what he has committed has been a bigger crime than any of us have ever witnessed. Again, if you look at it from a practical view, there doesn't seem to be anything that will be achieved by giving him the death sentence. The planners and the trainers will continue bring up more Kasabs who will be willing to die for their God (In any case, I think religion is the root of all evil, but that's a different topic of discussion altogether). The only benefit I see is the money being spent on keeping him alive will be saved.

These thoughts are very conflicting and I really don't have an opinion on whether he should be hanged or not. All I know is that the judge is wiser than me and will probably take the best decision for this situation.

But moving on to public execution...how did this even come into people's heads?? Since when is it cool to be this violent in thoughts? What sadistic pleasure can you possibly get?? And every time I hear about the "public's opinion" on this, I'm reminded of the phrase "Don't take the law in your own hands". The statement was aptly made because the public has a very unsettling way of dealing with social and criminal problems. We belong to a society that will beat a taxi driver who has accidentally bumped his car into a swanky owner driven car. A society where homosexuality is still shunned, where honor killings are still rampant, where parents are still against different-caste marriages, where dowry is still prevalent. This is the public whose opinion should be sought? Because this is the public that is suggesting a public execution.

And what will a public execution achieve? Closure? Studies prove otherwise. So not only is it inhumane, violent, extremist, but it is also totally irrelevant and useless. I would really hope people think of this with a mind less evil than that of the perpetrators. We are better than this. Or at least we are capable of being the role models. With aggressive thoughts like these, we are teaching the next generation to be equally violent. Children see, children do. Please let's teach the next generation to be better than us.

And let us not just hope that such terrorist acts do not happen in the future, but also that more youngsters are not taken away into terrorist camps for their lives to be thrown away like this. Just in the name of political and religious agendas of a few nefarious people.

Remember, Gandhi said "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind".