Acid Blinding Sentence in Iran

[Dimnos]

First off I would like to say I think blinding is cruel and unusual. Im all for locking real criminals up while reserving the right to kill the truly deserving. (Capital punishment has its own thread and if you want to talk about that go there.)

As far as punishments being a deterrent of crime thought... I think burning his eyes with acid does more to deter future acid attacks than throwing him in prison. How does it not? If so much as one person thinks "Oh damn. I dont my eyes burned out with acid, I better not do that." Then it has accomplished its goal. You could say Throwing him in prison will have the same effect from a more peaceful resolution but how many people will think "Whats the worst that will happen? They throw me in jail?". Also consider how much violence will spread in prison because of that guy. I dont know what the Iranian prison system is like, this conversation is kind of in general terms anyway, but how many fights will he get into with other prisoners? Or with the guards?
Its not exactly fair to compare any other country to Americas prison system, that needs to be drastically changed, but it usually produces a more violent criminal more often than it releases a rehabilitated one.

Originally Posted by Zhukov

I don't think justice is about fairness, and I don't think it should be... but if it were about fairness, then yes, the guy would have a bucket of acid splashed in his face.

Just out of curiosity, what is justive about to you Z? Im not trying to undermine your arguments with this or anything, I honestly want to know. If justice isnt about fairness then what is it about?

[Zhukov]

I'd see an acid blinding sentence to be a deterrent for, say, a theft crime, or something akin to that. I don't think a potential murderer or acid blinder would be doing much rational thought before their crime, since even a life term in prison should be enough to turn your average sensible person away from such things. I guess there are going to be exceptions, obviously.

Anyway, this guy still did his crime, even with the punishment being known to him. It's not like Iranians are at all surprised when this stuff happens; it's third page news stuff. If it stops ONE person from doing it, then I guess it is successful in that regard, but I think the alternative might work better - we might not ever find out though.


As for my sense of justice, well, it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I generally would like people to aim for a large serving of what's best for society, a side of decency and progressive morals, a splash of deterrent, and a dash of revenge.

The world's not perfect, but we should at least aim in the general direction, I think.