Law in Contemporary Society

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AndrewWolstan-FirstPaper 3 - 14 Feb 2008 - Main.AndrewWolstan
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Vengeance, Evolution and the Criminal Justice System

-- By AndrewWolstan - 14 Feb 2008
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 I see no problem with a societal decision that vengeance is an important element of our criminal justice system. What I do see as a problem is dressing the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Some try to make the argument that execution or additional punishment serves as a means from separating the law abiding public from the “bad seeds” or that the punishment serves as a deterrent. Countless studies suggest that this assertion is simply false, but an argument that says that vengeance should be exacted for crimes, however crude, is one that I can accept. I say this though with one caveat, the society must openly recognize that they are making this choice in the sacrifice of reducing crime. When people recognize that the criminal justice system is structured primarily as an extension of our evolutionary bloodlust, the society can make a full, informed conscious choice. Human evolution caused a dramatic over-extension of vengeance beyond the measure that is present in most of nature. Thousands of years ago, it was recognized that reducing that level of vengeance was essential to a healthy society. We as a society, if truly informed, have the choice to continue to evolve, but if we're not ready let's acknowledge that we still need vengeance.

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References:

Study in New Guinea: http://umainetoday.umaine.edu/issues/v3i3/revenge.html

Hammurabi’s code: http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/CODE.HTM

Americans reducing their desire for the death penalty: http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9719806

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Revision 3r3 - 14 Feb 2008 - 18:09:46 - AndrewWolstan
Revision 2r2 - 14 Feb 2008 - 13:48:28 - AndrewWolstan
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