Can Justice And Mercy Coexist?

They can co-exist and in a perfect world, they always would. One definition of justice is "the principle of moral rightness; equity." Justice can be served within the bounds of compassion. A person can be held accountable for a crime or misdeed without being tortured or treated inhumanely. The Constitution, of course, even forbids "cruel and unusual punishment." Being merciful does not require ignoring crimes or transgressions. It means taking into account the humanity of one who has committed a crime or transgression while seeking equity. Mercy is an essential part of justice. It is important that the concept of "tit for tat" or "an eye for eye and a tooth for tooth" is not justice. That is only revenge.

The purpose of justice is not to seek revenge, but to secure well being of the society as a whole. There are times when this can only be secured through punishment. But more often, mercy and the act of forgiving are more effective ways of securing well being for all. Mercy gives the offender an opportunity to reform and improve. At the same time it also gives mental peace and satisfaction to the person showing mercy.

In Merchant of Venice,

"Quality of mercy is not strain'd

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven,

Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."

An example of mercy in justice is the recent example of the Iranian woman, who was blinded and badly disfigured in an acid attack.  Following the Iranian law of an eye for an eye, the man would be blinded (given the same treatment as the woman has suffered).However what really impressed the world is that the woman decided not to blind the man and instead forgive the man. The fact that the court gave the opportunity for the victim to revenge is upholding justice, but mercy is at the same time seen, since the victim chose not to carry out the punishment on her attacker.  The victim’s act has saved her attacker from the cruel sentence of having acid being splashed on his face, but we cannot deny that justice is not served – the attacker would probably have to be jailed for a long, long time. 

In conclusion, justice and mercy can co-exist, perhaps in different situations. Both justice and mercy are required to achieve good, functioning society. The key point here is knowing when to show mercy and when to show justice as an excess of either may threaten the stability of our society.