The BBC is reporting an Iranian man has been sentenced to the punishment of acid thrown in his face for the purpose of blinding him.

This might seem unusual to the Western world, but in fact, it goes back to the Old Testament era, of, "An eye for an eye & a tooth for a tooth". (However, it's actually done under the auspices of the Islamic Code of Equivalence.)

The man in question is convicted of blinding a woman four years ago by throwing acid in her face, so now it's his turn to be blinded, via the same method.

Many people reading this will have no problem with it, and I must admit that a part of me is saying, 'Good! He has it coming.'

Yet there is another part of me that isn't ruled by emotions and that recognizes when you answer one sick act with another, the main thing you get is more sickness in your society. While I am sure there are plenty of people who would love a job where they get to throw acid in some deserving person's face, clearly it would turn such an employee into a psychopath or sociopath.

The sickness doesn't stop with the people who mete out the
punishment, either. Everyone becomes a bit more ill simply by placing their attention on such matters.

It sends out a signal to the populace that there are occasions when unthinkable acts are appropriate. The more of such signals we are exposed to, the more such acts tend to take place. Therefore, the deterrent argument never holds up.

I might be straying off topic here, but I'm reminded of the time, hundreds of years ago in England when pick-pocketing was
so commonplace that the monarchy was concerned about lost
revenue, so they made pick-pocketing a capitol crime. For the purpose of deterrence, they made the execution of pick-pockets a public event, attracting large crowds of people who would see first hand what happens to pick-pockets. It was soon discovered that the crime of pick-pocketing increased dramatically, because pick-pockets took advantage of the large gatherings and actually worked the executions.

Furthermore, even if there was a rash of acid in the face crimes, and even if acid in the face sentences was proven to deter such crimes, I would not be for it. If something is heinous when a citizen does it, it's at least as heinous when a government does it, and I simply can't condone it. That's my code.

In addition, innocent people, on occasion, do get convicted.
Many people have had their innocence proven years after serving time. while their lost time can never be returned, at least they can be released from prison. It's kind of hard to take back some acid in the face, or an execution, for that matter.

And that point alone is why a civil society should never stoop so low as to delve in the arena of the taking of a life or the taking of one's eyesight, or other cruel & unusual punishment.

Besides, where would one draw the line? How about a rapist who violates people? Is the government supposed to hire "good" rapists to rape the "bad" ones?

Emotions make us human and serve a great purpose, but to rule a legal system, we must rise above base emotions and find a Higher Way.

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