Source: CNN.
When I first read this post about how a mob beat and lynched a 13-year old boy of stealing, my immediate reaction is to condemn those attackers for their crime. And it is a crime. I wanted them also beaten and lynched. Eye for an eye. But is it about a disregard for life, a failed criminal system as the CNN post pointed to, or a cultural outlook on dealing with this kind of thing?
First, looking at how we view life and justice here in the West, there is difference between states within America on how we deal with criminals and their sentences. Some advocate death penalties while others are more lenient. And in Europe, they have their own views on this.
But I like to think that we also view life as precious and not so trivial. Sure we have our own problems - one glaring example is the recent rash of shootings by law enforcements. I'm not here to debate their merits and justifications.
But executing a 13-year old boy? And not by the state but a mob. Now, that is wholesale disregard for life no matter how corrupt or ineffective the local justice system is. And apparently, this sort of swift mob execution is a common place in Bangeladesh. And apparently, some of the attackers enjoyed their part in this barbaric torture and murder of a child.
When I first read this post about how a mob beat and lynched a 13-year old boy of stealing, my immediate reaction is to condemn those attackers for their crime. And it is a crime. I wanted them also beaten and lynched. Eye for an eye. But is it about a disregard for life, a failed criminal system as the CNN post pointed to, or a cultural outlook on dealing with this kind of thing?
First, looking at how we view life and justice here in the West, there is difference between states within America on how we deal with criminals and their sentences. Some advocate death penalties while others are more lenient. And in Europe, they have their own views on this.
But I like to think that we also view life as precious and not so trivial. Sure we have our own problems - one glaring example is the recent rash of shootings by law enforcements. I'm not here to debate their merits and justifications.
But executing a 13-year old boy? And not by the state but a mob. Now, that is wholesale disregard for life no matter how corrupt or ineffective the local justice system is. And apparently, this sort of swift mob execution is a common place in Bangeladesh. And apparently, some of the attackers enjoyed their part in this barbaric torture and murder of a child.
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